Rangers: Training Grounds

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Visiting Ranger of the North, Gwestion
Training Ground sparring ring
December 26th, early afternoon

After showing Kaylin a couple of moves that he'd learned long ago, from his father, Gwestion was then eager to learn about a few moves she had used that, to be honest, he'd barely been able to see what she'd done. So, it was nice to be able to see the techniques executed more slowly, so that he could copy it and try it out for himself. With a thoughtful nod, he went through the maneuvers a few times to try and commit them to memory. "Thank you." He was glad to get to learn new things, especially since he had not expected to get to learn anything new today except perhaps some things to do with the obstacle course.

He was a little surprised by how well he and Kaylin seemed to get along, since initially, he had thought her to be very much like Gladhron, and had thought she might not care for his company. So far, that did not seem to be the case, however.

When she asked about trying again, he gave a little nod. "Yes, that would be nice," He agreed, mostly concerning 'not having to run away'. Perhaps he'd get a chance to try out one of the moves she had just taught him, although he doubted that she'd let him pull off anything successfully. He readied his sword, shifting into a fighting stance, and nodded to her to indicate he was ready. Or, at least as ready as he was likely to get, now that he knew how much more advanced her skills were.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Hyandaner Kaylin
Training Grounds - December 26th, early afternoon

"You're welcome," she said with a broad smile. "And thank you, too. Could save my life some day." While she clearly meant it, her tone wasn't too dark or serious. It was just the way of her world.

When Gwestion made it clear he was ready, Kaylin's expression grew more serious as well. After a nod of her own, she began her attack. Holding back like this first reminded her of the time she'd been charged with two recruits in the army, even if Gwestion was clearly much better than they had been. She soon realized it was actually more comparable to what it had been like to spar with Thûllir, when they'd first started doing that, years ago. Given how Gwestion had been shooting, earlier, Kaylin figured the bow was likely his primary weapon. Trying to think back, she added in a few attacks she remembered Thûllir having some difficulties with at the time. Just to see whether these two would have more in common than being on the stoic side and wielding a bow.

While Kaylin was making her own comparison, she managed to hold back in a way that wouldn't have Gwestion running around as much. But - Kaylin of course remained... Kaylin. If Gwestion would have a mind to make a comparison of his own and compare the redhead to Arnyn, he would easily note that Kaylin's style was nothing like his friend's. Kaylin's attacks were more forceful and - even if her technique was also excellent - the way she moved could almost be described as impulsive.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Visiting Ranger of the North, Gwestion
Training Ground sparring ring
December 26th, early afternoon

"Could save my life some day."

Gwestion glanced at her at that comment, and nodded. "They have mine." He agreed. "A few times." He didn't elaborate on that, however. That was more Gladhron's kind of thing, to boast about his past experiences in some exciting tale.

As she began her attack, he found it a bit more comparable to sparring against Gladhron, although she was faster, and more skilled, than him. And, now that she was holding back some, he was more aware that her style of fighting seemed a bit more akin to the way his brother fought, and he was used to sparring against his brother. Yet she definitely knew some moves that he and Gladhron did not, and when she used one of those, he was a bit caught off guard. Not knowing quite how to block it, he had only time to dodge to one side and avoid it, before attempting to strike at her from this new angle, which was unsuccessful as she managed to block him every time.

He still kept trying, however. As the match went on, Gwestion found himself having to defend, for the most part, as her attacks kept coming. She was relentless, her attacks fierce. Keeping his cool as well as he could, he blocked several strikes before attempting a counterattack, then pivoted out of the way of her sword as she retaliated with a stab, and resumed blocking. He was trying, as well as he could, to get a feel for her ways and how she tended to attack. But it was difficult to observe any particular patterns, since she seemed to be rather impulsive. Which was a really good way of keeping your opponent from anticipating your next move, but slightly frustrating for the one trying to spar against her.

He waited for a moment when he'd just ducked a neck-high slash from her sword, and as he ducked, at the same time he swung his own sword in a low diagonal sweep aimed for her legs, hoping to catch her by surprise with that.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Lieutenant Arnyn Dealedwen
Training Grounds - December 26th, afternoon

When she greeted the guards at the gate to the grounds, they both offered a salute. One of them, however, stepped forward. "Lieutenant! It is good to see you. We, uh... there is probably something you should be made aware of. Now you're here, we might as well report it immediately."

Arnyn halted, slanting her head. "What is going on, Ron?"

As the matter was explained to her, the Lieutenant's face gave away nothing of her thoughts. Her gaze flicked between the two guards, her expression remained neutral, and her nod as Ron finally fell silent, was thoughtful. "So Gwestion is inside now, with Kaylin," she repeated, as if to check she understood that right.

Ron nodded. "We haven't seen the other guy since he used this Gwestion's permission slip a few days ago. We haven't seen the man who used the other permission slip since then, either."

The Lieutenant hummed thoughtfully. Clearly, pretending she had no idea, was no longer an option. It had been officially reported to her, now. "If you see either of them again, I would be very interested in their explanation. These permission slips are not given to just anyone."

"Understood, Lieutenant."

She smiled faintly at them. "Consider it reported. Don't bother with the paperwork after your shift."

If anything, they seemed the happiest about that.

Arnyn entered the grounds, heading for the obstacle courses.

Hyandaner Kaylin
Training Grounds - December 26th, afternoon

She whispered a curse when she saw what Gwestion was doing. There was no time left to bring her sword around and back down, after that upward slash for his neck. It had been too impulsive a move. She hadn't thought about the consequences - and here they were, biting her in the ass. There wasn't enough time to step far enough backward or to the side, either. All she had time for... for something else she wouldn't be able to think through.

Well. Beggars can't be choosers.

Kaylin jumped. But she didn't just jump up. She jumped forward. Barrelling right into Gwestion. Her sword was still up and away anyway, it wouldn't hurt him. Much. Right?

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Visiting Ranger of the North, Gwestion
Training Ground sparring ring
December 26th, early afternoon

Kaylin's move caught him by surprise, but fortunately, Gwestion was already in a low position, after having ducked. Her leap toward him knocked him over with a grunt from the impact, but he swiftly rolled with it and recognized right away that she was attempting to pin him. His sword had gotten knocked out of his hand when he fell, and he wasn't sure if she was trying to keep him from getting it, or just simply trying to pin him.

He didn't try to reclaim his sword, however. Instead, he grabbed for her sword arm before she could have a chance to use it on him, trying to make sure and keep it well away from him while attempting to disarm her, in turn. Or at least twist it away from himself, if possible. Whether he could get her sword away from her and use it against her, or simply evenly things up for them both, he didn't care at the moment. He'd see how this went, and go from there. Thankfully, he was quick enough to catch her arm and angle the unsharpened blade away from himself, but Kaylin was quick to try and find a more advantageous position of her own. Gwestion focused on trying to keep the weapon away from himself, while also trying to just get rid of it altogether. He was well aware that if he gave her half a chance to use it on him, he'd be done for. Even with her holding back.

Without a weapon in hand, he found it easier to attempt some of the disarming moves he knew, or to try some pinning techniques, since that left both hands available to work with. Yet, he found Kaylin to be very 'slippery' when it came to trying to pin her, and at the same time, he had to constantly work to keep her from doing the same thing to him. He was a bit relieved when he managed to send her sword across the ring, but in doing so, he gave her an empty hand. Which she then used to twist around and grab his arm that had previously been holding hers, and before he could do anything to prevent it, his arm was in a painful bind. He rolled back and pushed his feet into her torso to try and flip her over his head and break her grip on him.

Since she had used the momentum of the flip to roll onto her feet, Gwestion did the same, using the momentum of his feet having just kicked outward, and hopped to his feet, then spun to face her again, preparing to continue the 'struggle' for as long as she wanted to keep it up.


*Kaylin's actions agreed with writer, in ooc chat

[Arnyn]

Hyandaner Kaylin
Training Grounds - December 26th, afternoon

She laughed when they toppled over, still grinning when Gwestion caught her arm, though it disappeared as swiftly as it had come about, as the two tried to get the upper hand over one another on the ground. Gwestion managed to disarm her, but she made him regret it. Even if for just a moment, cause he sent her flipping over him with his feet. Having sort of expected that move, Kaylin continued the motion into a roll and smoothly got to her feet.

Grinning again, she briefly re-assessed him. "Well, alright then. You're not bad at the hand-to-hand." He was quite good, actually. But then again, so was she. She kind of wnated to know how he was with knives, but they didn't have anything blunted or unsharpened in that size in the shed, here. "Are you gonna make me wait all day?" she asked him, after glancing over to both their swords. Too far away to grab quickly. Unless they both agreed to. They both attacked at the same time. Kaylin ducked under Gwestion's attack by putting her hands down on the floor in front of her and threw her legs up into a sort of handstand, intending to pin them around his neck, to bring her upper body up and then to hurl herself back and down again, to throw him forward and off balance.*

It was a ridiculous move to use in battle, really, but it was so much fun to use when messing around. If it worked, she did hope the guy would be thinking quickly enough as to not have him face smashing into the dirt.

*Like a hurricanrana

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Visiting Ranger of the North, Gwestion
Training Ground sparring ring
December 26th, early afternoon

He wouldn't have seen that move coming in a hundred years. Gwestion had moved forward to attack, only to suddenly find that she was not there, and then she was somehow yanking him into a flip, using.. her legs? He was confused, caught off guard, and completely amazed. Yet, fortunately, he had pretty quick reflexes, and even as his eyes widened in surprise at that absurd move, he tucked his head in and made sure that he rolled sort of to the side as he hit the ground, and came up to his feet, just a bit clumsily, still halfway wondering what she just did and how to even defend against something like that.

He had hardly any time to wonder about that, however, as she was already coming at him, with the clear intention of striking an elbow into his ribs. He moved fast, pivoting just enough to avoid the strike, while his hands reached out to catch her arm as she moved past him. Before he could twist her arm around behind her back, he felt her twisting toward him. Instinct told him she'd try for something with a knee, since that was about the only thing left available to her now. Even as she was bringing her knee up toward his ribs, Gwestion hastily placed one foot around to the other side of her standing leg, and though he winced slightly as he took a knee to the ribs, he pushed at the arm he was holding, so that she be off-balanced. He didn't expect her to be able to grab onto him and bring him down with her, however, so when she hooked her other arm around his shoulders and dragged him down too.. he was a bit surprised.

At that point, possibly because he was now on the ground looking up at the sky, Gwestion became aware that it was probably pretty close to the time that he ought to be going to meet Celume. This could easily go on for a long while, he realized, for she seemed quite evenly matched with him. "Truce," He spoke swiftly and held up his hands swiftly to signal surrender, before she might try any other wild attacks on him. With a little amusement in his eyes, he moved himself up onto his knees, then stood and offered a hand to Kaylin, both to help her up, and to shake hands.

"You're very good." He told her with a little smile, still a bit at a loss what to even think of that interesting move she'd pulled off. "As much as I would enjoy continuing this for however long we both are able, I think it's nearly time for me to meet your lieutenant." He explained regretfully. "And, I'd rather not be too bruised up, before going through those obstacle courses."


(all moves consulted and agreed upon with kaylin's writer)

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Hyandaner Kaylin
Training Grounds - December 26th, afternoon

'Truce.'
Kaylin grinned and accepted his hand, shaking it before she let him pull her up - albeit just a little. "That's a surrender, right?" she asked, still grinning. In response to his compliment, she nodded. "Thank you! So are you, for the record."
When Gwestion said it was probably about time for him to go meet with Arnyn, Kaylin hummer affirmatively. "Right you are. You won't need to go far, though." When he looked at her, she gestured to a spot behind him.

Lieutenant Arnyn Dealedwen
Training Grounds - December 26th, afternoon

Arnyn was leaning against the equipment shed, watching them, arms lightly crossed in front of her. "Afternoon," she bid them both, smiling calmly.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Visiting Ranger of the North, Gwestion
Training Ground sparring ring
December 26th, early afternoon

At Kaylin's comment about a surrender, Gwestion raised an eyebrow slightly. "Consider it a pause, until we can resume at a later time?" He suggested instead. Then gave a little nod of acknowledgement at her return compliment. "Thank you. I usually have only my brother to spar against. It is nice to get a chance to test myself against someone else, particularly someone as skilled as you are."

When she said he wouldn't need to go far to find Arnyn, Gwestion paused, half-expecting it to be some sort of trick. But, he reminded himself, they had called a 'truce' to their sparring for the moment. Surely, she wouldn't try something like that, now? He looked over his shoulder, and saw that Celume was indeed standing there. "Afternoon." He replied, tilting his head curiously. "Have you been waiting for very long?" He asked, partly wondering how long she'd been standing there, watching, but also hoping he hadn't kept her waiting too long. After all, he knew she had a very busy schedule.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

|
Hyandaner Kaylin | Lieutenant Arnyn Dealedwen
Training Grounds - December 26th, afternoon

Arnyn smiled at the question while Kaylin chuckled, beating Arnyn to a response. "She has been there for a while." Running a hand through her hair, Kaylin shrugged. "Why do you think I pulled that flashy move?"

"Trying to impress your Lieutenant?" Arnyn asked her, with either real or feigned surprise.

Kaylin went to pick up her gear. "Why not? Maybe I want to tempt you into a hand-to-hand sparring match. Maybe then I can beat you for once," she added in a lower grumble. "Anyway... so how do you know Gwestion?" she asked Arnyn while throwing a glance at the northern ranger. "That one is too tight-lipped to spill."

That actually made Arnyn laugh. "We met years ago, in the woodlands not too far from Bree. A while before the war's end."

"Oh, really?" Kaylin mused. "And they didn't know your name?" On her way over to Arnyn, Kaylin nudged Gwestion's shoulder with her own, as if to say 'you thought I was letting that go?'

Arnyn didn't seem to mind the question. "I was using another name there."

"Well, well! How very rangery of you." Kaylin had walked over to Arnyn by now, and they lightly bumped the outer side of their right wrists against each other. "Don't tell me. Celume, right?"

That did make Arnyn lift an eyebrow. "Yeeeees," she drawled. "How would you know about that?"

Kaylin smiled brightly, apparently very happy with something or other, while she turned back to Gwestion, and waited.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Visiting Ranger of the North, Gwestion
Training Ground sparring ring
December 26th, early afternoon

Inwardly, Gwestion wondered how he had not noticed her standing there for 'a while'. He would have to work on that, because he definitely didn't like the thought of an enemy being able to sneak up on him like that. He blamed it on having been so focused on the sparring match, but he also knew that wasn't a very good excuse. If she had wanted to kill him, he would have been too preoccupied to notice, and she would have succeeded.

Rather than letting himself get caught up in 'what ifs' and such, Gwestion began gathering his own gear, wearing a faint hint of a smile as he listened to Arnyn and Kaylin talk. "Yes, about that 'fancy move'..." He added, turning to Kaylin curiously. "What even is that? Is that a common move around here? Is there a way to defend from it?" He asked, quite interested in learning something new.

As Kaylin asked about how she knew Gwestion, nudging his shoulder, he had no protest. Brushing dust off of the practice sword, he approached the two women as Kaylin guessed the name Celume. That did earn her a glance of curiosity, though he managed to suppress his surprise. It only lasted for a second, anyway, before realizing where she must have heard that name. And then everything fit. "Gladhron." He answered Arnyn's question, holding back a sigh.

"Kaylin mentioned that Gladhron had said that he didn't know 'Arnyn'." He added. "I gathered that that conversation occurred before he realized that you were Celume." He shrugged slightly to Arnyn. "I didn't know if you'd want me discussing any of that, or the fact that you had used another name," he added, in explanation for his own 'tight-lippedness'. He looked at Kaylin, then. "So, I was trying to refrain from saying. I apologize if I came across as trying to be deceptive, or 'sneaky'."

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

|
Hyandaner Kaylin | Lieutenant Arnyn Dealedwen
Training Grounds - December 26th, afternoon

Kaylin just smirked, rather pleased with herself, in response to Gwestion's question about the move she pulled earlier. Arnyn laughed quietly. "It is not a common move," the blonde replied in Kaylin's stead. "And it looked like you could have sidestepped it, or kicked her in the back with your knee."

"Aaaaall valid options," Kaylin nodded. "Want to try them, Arnyn?" she challenged, smiling innocently. "We can always schedule another sparring match. No swords, this time."

Arnyn seemed to ignore her, however, especially when Gwestion just filled in the blank by supplying his brother's name. When he continued to speak, Arnyn glanced at Kaylin, who was looking much too happy about something. If it had been something she had learned from talking to Gladhron... before he had known Arnyn wanted him to keep quiet about certain things here... Arnyn's gaze flicked back to Gwestion. In this particular instance, she definitely could see the advantage of offering little to no information about things. Now, there was no telling what Gladhron might have told Kaylin about 'Celume'. And now Kaylin knew that Celume and Arnyn were one and the same... Arnyn held back a sigh of her own. She could only hope certain things had not been divulged already.

Kaylin shrugged at Gwestion. "No need to apologize. Sometimes, a little sneakiness can be a good thing, too." She held out her hand to him, so she could receive the practice sword back from him. Then she proceeded to return it, as well as her own practice blade, to the shed. "So what did you.. three?...get up to, up north?" she asked, looking from Arnyn to Gwestion, and back.

Arnyn smiled in recollection. "Mostly some bandit hunting, I guess."

"Bandit hunting," Kaylin repeated, raising her eyebrows. "Oooh, yes," she said, remembering what Gladhron had told her and Tercen. "After bringing some supplies to your not-girlfriend, right?" she asked Gwestion. Then she returned her attention to Arnyn, wondering briefly how much she wanted to tease her friend. "Gladhron told me and Tercen a whoooole lot about 'Celume'," she told Arnyn with an amused grin. "Some things truly sounded like you. Other things... less so."

Arnyn wasn't sure how to reply to that without proving to Kaylin that there may be something she knew that Arnyn didn't want her to know. She decided on going with the 'unbothered' approach.

Kaylin still looked smug. "So, since you've worked together against bandits in the past, which clearly worked out well, does that mean you're here for..." She gestured vaguely into the air.

Arnyn frowned. Whatever did she mean?

"Well, you know," Kaylin went on, but she was growing more hesitant, and she cleared her throat. Mentally, she swore. Clearly, they weren't. Or Arnyn would have known straight away what she'd meant. Trying to think of a way to recover from that, without making Gwestion more curious, Kaylin's mind was racing. And then she saw Arnyn had just put together what she meant, and the way her friend's face - nay, her Lieutenant's face - was darkening. Crap. "Never mind," she said, trying on a casual smile. "Some boring training thing probably isn't high on your vacation priority list, am I right?" she tried to turn it around as she looked at Gwestion.

Arnyn wanted to facepalm herself. Well, actually, she'd rather facepalm Kaylin. A line like that would have worked on Gladhron, probably, but saying something like that to Gwestion? He'd probably want to know everything about it, now!

"Regardless of the priority list," Arnyn interjected, "it is reserved to the unit, anyway." She tilted her head. "Are you joining us at the obstacle courses, Kaylin?" she inquired, trying to change the subject.

Kaylin's gaze flicked between Arnyn and Gwestion a moment, and then she shrugged. "I think I'm good. About time for me to head back home, anyway. It was nice meeting you, Gwestion," she told him with a little smile. "Catch you later, Arnyn." She still gave Arnyn a fist to heart salute, before turning and striding off.

Arnyn returned the salute and drew in a slow, deep breath, before slowly starting off into the direction of the obstacle courses. "Were you sparring with her the whole time?" she asked Gwestion, further trying to divert his attention away from the subject Kaylin should never have even vaguely broached.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Visiting Ranger of the North, Gwestion
Training Ground sparring ring
December 26th, early afternoon

Gwestion kept quiet as Arnyn answered Kaylin's questions, figuring she would know, more than himself, how much she wanted the redhead to know about their time together up north. However, when Kaylin spoke of his 'not girlfriend', Gwestion blinked and looked at her for a long moment. Surely, that hadn't been told to her by Celume, he reasoned, which meant.. the only other possibility. Gladhron. Again. He held back a sigh, and decided to simply not give an answer to that. She confirmed his guess quickly enough, at least.

"You oughtn't believe everything Gladhron says," Gwestion mentioned with a little shrug. "Not that he would speak deliberate lies, but he does have a bad habit of exaggerating things far too much." He let her know. "So, who knows how much of what he told you was actually fact, or fiction." He hoped that might help to dissipate some of whatever she had been told about those matters. While it was impossible to tell what sort of opinion Celume had about it all, he suspected she was not entirely pleased to hear that his brother had been 'blabbing' again.

Kaylin got his attention then, as she asked if they were here for... what? He tilted his head curiously as she trailed off, and then covered for whatever she'd been going to say. Well, that was curious. And the look on Celume's face suggested that Kaylin should not have mentioned this.. whatever it was. But, the latter then mentioned that this training 'thing' was reserved for their unit only. With a small nod, he mentally tucked that away, and instead pointed out, "I am at the training grounds, on my 'vacation'." He said, slightly amused. "If I found training to be that boring, would I have been so determined to get in here?"

It seemed Kaylin was done with training for the day, now. Gwestion gave a little nod. "Likewise," He replied to her. "Perhaps, some other time, we will have a chance to spar again, and pick up where we left off."

Once she had gone away, he turned to Celume. "No," He answered, walking with her. He paused to collect his gear. "We started at the archery range, then moved to the sparring ring." He paused. "May I ask what sort of training it is, that's restricted to your unit?" He asked, before quickly adding, "I understand if you can't answer, it's just.. that seems.. unusual? The training grounds is already restricted, isn't it? Except for the special case in which Gladhron and I got permission to use it. Are there areas we are not meant to go? If so, it would be best if I know where those are." He pointed out, not wanting to risk accidentally venturing someplace he wasn't supposed to be.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Lieutenant Arnyn Dealedwen
Training Grounds - December 26th, afternoon

She smiled when he mentioned the range. "Oh, that's interesting. The bow is not her specialty, however, nor even her secondary weapon, so I would assume you bested her?" Arnyn asked Gwestion with a little smile.
His question about the training, made her look ahead instead of focusing on him. Kaylin had put her foot in it. It was not that she did not trust Gwestion to keep it quiet, but... the rules were the rules. The mission was to be a secret to all but those involved. And the King had only signed off on their unit and on Abrazimir Dimaethor's men. So far, her mind whispered. With a frown, she pushed the thought down.

"You need not worry about stepping somewhere you are not supposed to," she started answering Gwestion's questions. "You have permission to be on these grounds, and that does mean all of these grounds. The training will not be taking place here." As they walked, she considered what she might say, as opposed to what she should not. "Part of the unit will be departing from the city for a couple of weeks, for the training." That would be common knowledge soon enough, anyway. "I have not mentioned it before, because I have not really known the specifics for long." She felt like she should explain a bit more about that. "And it was not very clear to me for how long you and your brother would be visiting, so I was not sure whether you would leave before the training even began, nor whether you would still be in Minas Tirith upon our return. However, by now it is looking like you will be staying beyond our departure date, at least. Even though you may still return north before we return to the city. As I said, part of the unit will be gone for about two, perhaps three weeks, even - and I am going with them."

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Visiting Ranger of the North, Gwestion
Training Ground sparring ring
December 26th, early afternoon

Gwestion gave a little shrug. "She wanted to make it into a competition." He answered her inquiry about the archery. "She did rather well," He added, which was quite truthful. He thought for a moment before adding, "I would say, she defeated me with swords about as well as I defeated her at archery." He answered her question without attempting to boast. "So far, every person from this city, whom I have sparred with, has been exceptionally good at swordsmanship." He added. "Is that a common thing, or have I somehow managed to encounter only the best?" He asked, curious, and giving her a small smile. For, of course, she was one of the two he was speaking of.

When she assured him that he needn't worry about the training grounds having restricted areas, Gwestion nodded, somewhat relieved to hear that. He considered her words about being unsure how long they'd be around. "I believe Seri would rather stay through the winter, at least," He informed her. "So, unless something unforeseen occurs, we should still be here when you return." He added.

After walking in silence with her for a moment, he added, "I.. or Gladhron and I both, may end up venturing off to nearby areas, on a bit of exploration, but we would not go too far from the ladies." He adjusted the strap on his quiver, as he was carrying it with him so not to leave it somewhere. "We don't usually come this far south," He mentioned quietly. "I.. don't know if there may be any sort of.. leads, anywhere around here, but, I thought it might be worth exploring. Even just a small clue might be worth investigating..." He hoped she would not be offended by that, since she had said she would keep an eye out, but he couldn't help but need to check for himself, now that he was here. Quietly, he glanced over at her, feeling quite sure she would know what he was referring to.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Lieutenant Arnyn Dealedwen
Training Grounds - December 26th, afternoon

"How many people have you sparred with?" she laughed lightly when he asked about that, also recognizing his roundabout compliment. Had it been just her and Kaylin, so far, or had he sparred with any others, somehow? Yet she saw no reason to withhold information on Kaylin's skills. "Kaylin is exceptionally skilled with the sword, I would say. Beyond what is the norm." It was easier to speak of another's skills, she felt, than it was to speak of her own.

When Gwestion said they should still be in Minas Tirith by the time the training concluded, Arnyn smiled. "That is good to know," she said genuinely, for she would definitely prefer not to bid them farewell so soon. The silence that fell between them was companionable, but Arnyn noted Gwestion seemed a bit uncomfortable when he spoke up again. Why was that?

When he continued to speak of leads and clues, she understood why and gave a slow nod. "While I did not come across anything in particular, I did not exactly have much to go by," she admitted. "So the two of you checking around sounds like a good idea." She paused, wondering if Gwestion would mind if she tried to talk more about his sister's disappearance. "For example, I did not know where exactly she was, when she was taken." In the north, the brothers had never said anything about where their home had been, nor had Arnyn asked of course. She had been wanting to avoid the question being asked of her in return, after all. "I only found that out this morning," she added. "But even now, I cannot think of anything in peculiar that would offer you a tangible lead."

She fell silent for a moment, wondering how much she should and should not say. For while there were things she was free to tell Gwestion about the abductions in Gondorian lands - as long as she did not divulge the mission - the question was whether he would sink his teeth into it? And if he did, what might that lead to?
And if she said nothing... and Gwestion learned about it, later... She frowned, wondering how she herself would feel, if the tables were reversed.

Arnyn held back a sigh. "Though, I should perhaps say we do have abductions here in Gondor. Most of them tie in with the Umbarian slave trade. But I would have yet to hear of those activities extending so deeply inland as to reach the Misty Mountains," she told him. "That seems highly unlikely. Their activities are focused on the coastlands, as to arrange for quick transport," she explained succinctly.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Visiting Ranger of the North, Gwestion
Training Ground - heading toward Obstacle course
December 26th, early afternoon

He glanced toward her with a faint smile. "Two." He answered her question, half-amused. "Although, one of those was long ago." He admitted, then nodded as she spoke of Kaylin's skills being above the normal levels. "Then, I suppose I ought not be too embarrassed that I was so clearly outmatched?" He asked, in his own way of teasing. "Still, I was glad to learn a few things before we switched to hand to hand." One never knew when such skills could end up saving your life, after all.

He gave a little nod when she mentioned that there had been nothing in particular for her to go by, concerning Gwilithiel. He hadn't really been sure how much she could have looked into the matter, even back then. But there hadn't really been time to tell her much, since she'd been in a hurry to go. And, then, he had not known where exactly she would be going back to. So, that had made things difficult to begin with.

His gaze fixed onto the ground as he walked with her, thinking as she mentioned having not known where their sister was taken from. How much did he want to tell her? After all, he had trusted her enough to tell her as much as he did, back then. But, before he had fully decided whether to tell her, she mentioned having found that out, this morning. He paused, not even needing to ask how. She and Gladhron had gone riding together. "It was men, as I'm sure he told you." He answered, instead. "but we could never figure out who they were, nor what their intent was." He drew a slow breath. "It was clear, however, that they went to great lengths to.. take women captives alive. Whereas, they simply killed my father without a second thought." His tone held a bit of an edge to it, as he said that.

Glancing toward her, Gwestion listened as she spoke of abductions in Gondor, how they were mostly tied to the slave trade in Umbar. His thoughts went to some of the activities from the copperhead bandits, who had tricked people into going with them, and then seemed to have taken them toward the coast. "That is here," he pointed out thoughtfully. "The people doing these things are nearer to the coasts, here. And, they probably have to be more careful about not letting their operations venture too far inland, lest they be discovered." He frowned.

"In Gondor, you have..." He motioned around. "I don't even know how many rangers, all here, together. A large unit with many eyes and ears to keep watch over the people." He reminded her unnecessarily. "In the north, you know how spread out we are. It's not easy to find other rangers, and if you don't know them already.. it's difficult to be sure they really are an ally." He felt sure she wouldn't forget his own caution toward her, when they had firsty met. "I don't even know if there are more than a handful of us left, and we cannot be in all places at once." He sighed. "Our enemies grew bolder when many of us rangers left the north to aid in the battles here," he explained. "Gladhron and I returned to find that the bandits had grown in both strength and boldness, as if they thought they had free reign now that the rangers had gone away for a while."

He sighed, shaking his head. "Sorry. It's just, a sore topic." he admitted quietly. "And I have no idea if the.. one matter is connected to the other." He glanced around as they walked, thinking for a moment. "I don't think they were slavers, however," he mentioned, a little tentatively. "Judging from what Bel saw.. I believe they only wanted women. Wouldn't a slaver be interested in taking good, strong men, too?"

[Pele Alarion]

@Lantaelen

Captain Pele Alarion
Training with Abrazimir

Abrazimir appeared to take her attack on his leg with seeming ease though Pele was sure that it had to be smarting some. The strike for his middle was parried, and she managed to escape just in time for that high-flying staff would have knocked her out cold had she not been quick enough to deflect it.

When the Dol Amrothian began to circle around her, she moved with him, very much on defensive for the few first moments. The attack did not come, and she changed her approach, beginning to switch her grip on the staff this way and that as if she were measuring distances and options of success.

"You wanna try making me black and blue from all sides, don't you?" she responded to Abrazi's tease with a lopsided grin. "Perhaps I should make you legless first then."

Pele tensed as if she would pounce forward to carry out her promise right away, the staff at around waist level with the further end higher as if she meant to bring it downwards towards his knees. However, with the move forward she swiftly brought the staff up and over her head to attack his right shoulder. She did not intend to get caught in a duel of pure strength if their staves ended up in a stalemate, so she drew back to weave something of a dance around Abrazimir to see if she could be that tiny bit faster in her attacks than he would be in defending himself. She moved around Abrazimir, and her hands moved along the length of the quarterstaff, ever adjusting for the grip best suited to her purposes. Pele tried another shoulder strike, though this time for his other shoulder, and then meant to take her attack down to his knees and back up towards his midsection and sides again, unless he managed to tie her up with proper defence and counterattacks.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Lieutenant Arnyn Dealedwen
Training Grounds - December 26th, afternoon

She smirked at hearing the number. Two. She hummed when he said one of the two had been long ago. "No, you definitely do not need to be embarrassed," she told him with a soft smile. When he said he learned a few things, Arnyn wondered: "Did Kaylin teach you, or did you pick it up yourself?"

"There are advantages and disadvantages to both having a larger group of rangers clustered together, and a scattered group across the lands. While it is true it is difficult to find others in the north, to go on a joint mission - it is probably easier to react to smaller problems? Since you are spread out, you learn more quickly of the goings-on across the lands, don't you? Even if you or Gladhron don't hear, for example, some other ranger who is in a different area might, and can react more quickly? Here, we are all focused in one spot. If word does not reach us..." She did not finish the sentence. "We should probably patrol more," she muttered, though she wasn't sure whether she wanted to start that logistical nightmare at this point in time, on top of everything else. "Then again, we also have the Guard in the larger cities, who can send word when needed, when trouble is afoot in their area." That relaxed her a bit, again.

She frowned at the news that the bandits had gotten stronger during the end of the war, since many of the rangers left the north, then. "About that," Arnyn began, as they were nearing the obstacle courses, "Even if it... worsened the situation up north... I can tell you that everyone here was very grateful for every single person who came to help, here." Arnyn fell silent momentarily. "It had been getting really bad, near the end - and when the Dawnless Day came... The Morgul Host through Osgiliath, with one lost battle after the other... the orcs from the Morannon taking Cair Andros and swarming into Anorien... The battle on the Pelennor... the siege on Minas Tirith... The Corsairs from Umbar raiding Lebennin and seeking to take Linhir and the fords..." She tilted her chin up fractionally, swallowing. It had been an impossible situation, really. "Without outside help, we would have fallen," she said quietly. Everyone would have died, or would have been enslaved... It was best not to even think about what would have also happened to the lands beyond, after the Enemy would have swallowed Gondor whole.

Arnyn's eyes were sad as she looked at Gwestion. "Yes, they would want men, too," she agreed, before drawing to a halt and gesturing at the obstacle courses spread out before them. "Here we are."

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Visiting Ranger of the North, Gwestion
Training Ground - heading toward Obstacle course
December 26th, early afternoon

"We sparred briefly, and each of us noticed a few unfamiliar moves that the other used." He answered. "So, we exchanged knowledge of those, between rounds." He thought for a moment, mentally noting the fact that she had apparently not been there until after that point, at least. "Is this where you learned to fight?" He wondered, curiously glancing over at her.

He nodded thoughtfully as she spoke about the advantages and disadvantages of their different ways. "Perhaps," He answered hesitantly, when she mentioned other rangers, besides he and Gladhron, being able to handle some problems. "But I don't even know what rangers there are, still. Nor, where they are." He knew of one, but hardly ever knew where to find him. And then there was Gwandhyra, but he had been here in Gondor for a long while. And there were others, he knew, but he didn't know many of them personally. As for what areas they were active in, he couldn't be sure. And he knew that while Emma was not actively involved in rangering anymore, if she heard of something going on, she wouldn't sit around doing nothing. Still, that seemed like a terribly small number, compared to here in Gondor. There seemed to him like there was far too much room for the bad guys to get by with things.

His thoughts were drawn away from that, however, when she spoke of how grateful she was to everyone who had come to assist in the major battles. Gwestion glanced over at her, nodding slightly at her quiet words. "I'm glad we heard about it in time to come and lend our swords to the cause," He answered quietly. It wasn't the most delightful subject. For, while Gondor and their allies had won the war in the end, there had been many losses. Not only had Rohan lost their king, but Gwestion and Gladhron had lost their cousin, Leored, in that same battle. He had only been two years younger than Gwestion.

He nodded solemnly when Celume confirmed his thoughts about the slavers. "I can understand people like that, not taking my father," He said quietly, frowning. "Given his.. injury, he could not have been much use to anyone, I imagine.. from a slaver's perspective." He frowned. "But Bel's father was in excellent health, she said, with no injuries of any sort. They would have wanted to capture him, not kill him." He paused. Anything more, and he might risk mentioning things that he had no right to mention. So, he left it at that.

"Let's put those matters aside, however." He suggested, preferring not to dwell on such troubling issues, now that they had arrived. They were here to train, and he'd like to have a good time while doing it. He looked at the obstacle course before him as she declared 'here we are'. Quietly, Gwestion let his eyes scan the course, mentally going over what he guessed each thing to be for. "Well, you're the most familiar," he looked at Celume. "How do you usually go through this?"

[Lantaelen]

@Pele Alarion

Abrazimir Dimaethor
Sparring with Pele Alarion, Training Grounds

The leg was very much aching. There would definitely be a bruise. But every bruise meant a new lesson learned, right? Well, depends on if he managed to profit from it and not let it happen again. Her threat to make him legless was very much a potential reality in the next few moments. His own retort died on his lips as Pele began to posture with the elegance of a predatory feline, almost giving him pause. Maybe you shouldn’t be in this neck of the woods, old boy…

But warriors never run. She made her move, seeming to go for a swinging assault to his knees again, instead bringing her staff about to attack his shoulder on from high. Abrazimir swing his staff rather wildly, to slap her staff away from his body. With a two handed grip on his staff, like it was a club, he then tried to jam the further end like a spear into her gut, but Pele nimbly avoided his assaults, one, two, three whole misses on Abrazimir’s part, his staff whooshing through the air. Damn, she was fast! And he overextended on the third and final, allowing her to get behind and deliver a stinging whack to the rear of his shoulder.

At least it was his less dominant shoulder. Did he cry out in pain or anguish? Instead he growled with anger and turned to keep her before him. Her follow up assault was an inch from rendering his knees paralyzed with the shock of a fresh blow, before he managed to parry it. His blood was really gushing now, making him precise and instinctive. She did this to him. But she had him on the ropes, all he could do was parrying and block, never finding any opportunity to counter attack. After the fourth strike, Abrazimir bounded away now, retreating and putting distance from the little predator that the Captain had become.

Abrazimir breathed heavily through his nose, eliciting a growl again in his throat. He was hurting on the leg and shoulder now. Opposite sides of his body. She had two hits on him. First to three was the victory conditions usually, right? He needed to play his next cards right. ”Try that again.” He dared her to take the offensive once more, while he stayed aloof and defensively, talking trash even though he was on the retreat. He needed every little bit of advantage, including the mental game, if he wanted to pull this around.

He continued to circle, though he inched forward little by little, trying to bring the end of his staff in contact with hers, to provoke her into hopefully overextending, or something.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Lieutenant Arnyn Dealedwen
Training Grounds - December 26th, afternoon

Was this where she had learned to fight? "We all learned some basics in Ithilien, while growing up. My father also taught me some already, the last three years or so before I enlisted," she told him. "But yes, after joining the rangers, I went through an extensive training process, here. With..." She paused, to think. "Four different mentors, until I was considered a full ranger of the Hyandaner division. Then on the job training in the Tower Guard and several missions outside of the city, as well as extensive sparring sessions to be seen as a veteran member of the division." Arnyn smiled. "Honestly... I really enjoyed those days. We had a very strong sense of camaraderie within the Hyandaner division."

She nodded when he mentioned Bel's father. "She mentioned what happened there," she admitted to Gwestion. "And that you thought their attackers sounded very similar to the group who had attacked your family home."

The obstacle course drew his attention, then, and Arnyn looked over at it herself with a pleased expression. "It will be most efficient to show you, I reckon," she told him, before walking toward the beginning of the course. She didn't take off her quiver or bow, nor the sword at her belt. While she had first practiced going through the courses without weapons being a hindrance, and she still did that from time to time when she was focusing on speed alone, she mostly preferred to tackle the course as she would need to tackle it in reality.

She'd taken Gwestion to a course that focused on stamina, balance and agility, first and foremost, with some obstacles that required strength as well. Sloping and tipping balance beams, pulling yourself up a wall, weaving past, over and under obstacles, jumping for a high-placed bar after which you had to move along a long sequence of bars by moving your hands from one high bar to the next, using a rope to swing over a watery (or muddy) area, a higher wall which you had to climb with a rope, a net you had to climb on, over and down - and several other obstacles. Arnyn went through them all, with her weapons and her cloak, and made it look easy. When she was done, she wiped the palmsof her hand on her pants and grinned as she approached Gwestion. "Want to try?"

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Visiting Ranger of the North, Gwestion
Training Ground - Obstacle course
December 26th, early afternoon

Listening with interest to her speaking of her training, Gwestion nodded slowly and couldn't help but feel as if he had missed out on a lot of training that she and others might consider 'basic'. While he did not know exactly what 'Hyandaner' was, he did know what it meant, and therefore could gather what it most likely was. A specific unit focusing on sword as their primary weapon, he guessed. No wonder both Celume and Kaylin had excellent sword skills.

He nodded slightly as she mentioned the camaraderie and how she missed it. And he knew exactly what she meant, for that was one of the things he missed so much about the time spent with his sister and brother when they were young. Times that could never return. Not the way they used to be, anyway. Perhaps one day, if they ever found her, they might be able to have something similar again, but...

Putting those thoughts firmly to the back of his mind, Gwestion tilted his head slightly in surprise when Celume mentioned that Bel had told her about what happened, with her father. She had? He wondered if she had told Celume all that she'd told Gwestion, but he decided not to ask, so not to have another misunderstanding, like they'd had with Gladhron's secret. Instead, he gave another little nod and turned his attention to the obstacle course.

"Alright." he agreed, standing back to watch as she began to go through it. The fact that she left her gear on did not surprise him too much, and he didn't plan on leaving his own things laying aside. He had plenty of practice doing whatever needed doing, while carrying his gear. So he simply took mental note of how she went through each of the obstacles.

"I'll try," He answered, a bit unsure how he'd do at it. There were some similar aspects to what he might find in a forest, of course; the balance beams that sloped and tipped, he imagined could be sort of like fallen trees that rested on another underneath, serving as an axis. They'd had something similar in their childhood 'playground'. And the over and under obstacles, could be like low or high logs that must be climbed over or under. After taking another look at each of the stations, he gave a little nod and started off, trying to do the same as she had done. He did not get through it as quickly as her, and did not make it look as easy as she did, but he managed to do fairly well, and only fell once from the vertical ladder thing, because his hands had gotten wet and a little muddy, from going under some of the previous obstacles. The net gave him brief pause, hiding a little smile at the memory of another net, long ago, but he managed to get across without too much trouble. The hilt of his sword caught on slightly on the net as he was about halfway across it, however, and he had to adjust its position at his side before he could move on. As he reached the tipping balance beam, he checked first to make sure that his boots weren't muddy as he started across, and managed to get over the tilting beam with only minor wobbling before continuing on his way.

He was a bit mud-streaked by the time he returned to where Celume stood, but felt fairly good about how well he had made it through the course. Considering it was the first time he had tried it, and it had been a while since he'd tried a few of those things. "You do this often, I can tell." He declared. How else would she have been so good at it, that she made it look as easy as she did? And if she said otherwise, he would be surprised.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Lieutenant Arnyn Dealedwen
Training Grounds - December 26th, afternoon

"I do," she confirmed. "I enjoy it. And it is good practice, while I am otherwise stuck in the city," she added. "You're pretty good at this, yourself," Arnyn complimented him with a smile. "Must be all that hands-on experience in the wilds... Come, I will show you the others."

She guided Gwestion along some of the next courses, telling him at each course what it allowed you to practice the most. With Gwestion having obtained permission to use the grounds while he was in town, and knowing Gwestion, she figured he would be spending regular amounts of time here, and getting some more information on things could be helpful. If anything, it would at least do no harm. When Gwestion showed interest in a particular course, they ran it. Which meant, of course... they went through almost every single course. At least all the moving about kept them mostly warm.

She was pleasantly feeling the burn by the time they finished. "Is there anything else you would like to do?" she asked her friend.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Visiting Ranger of the North, Gwestion
Training Ground - Obstacle course
December 26th, early afternoon

Gwestion was a little surprised that she had not asked him anything about where his brother was. He had to admit, he had expected her to wonder about Gladhron's absence. Knowing, himself, why Gladhron would not likely be making an appearance, he had been mentally preparing for when she would ask. But she did not. He wondered what that might mean. He knew she had not forgotten that Gladhron had intended on coming. But he also wasn't going to bring it up, if she didn't.

They went through several of the courses, as he found each of them to be pleasantly different from the previous one. By the time he was feeling too tired to keep at it, he felt pretty satisfied that he had done a good amount of training today. While they were on 'vacation' of sorts, he intended to make as much use of this training area as possible, so that they would return to the north better and more capable of handling their foes than when they had left.

That got him to thinking, maybe he should ask about getting Gladhron's permission returned. Because it wouldn't do for Gladhron to have too many excuses to not train, while he was here. Gwestion took a look around when Celume asked about anything else, thinking. "I think that's probably enough for one day," He admitted. He had done some sparring before she showed up, after all, and archery practice as well. So, he felt pretty well-rounded in his training for the day. "Do you have to get back to your duties?" He asked, assuming. Her schedule had been quite filled up, from what he'd seen of it, after all.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Lieutenant Arnyn Dealedwen
Training Grounds - December 26th, afternoon

"There is only a bit of work I have left to do, today," she told him. She was planning on reading at least a few entries in Devedir's Captain's log... "So, kind of. I cannot do it this evening - my brother is taking me to meet his latest girlfriend." Whether she seemed excited or dubious about that, was hard to tell. "If I want to get anything else done before then, I should get going. If you're leaving, too, we can go back to the city together?" she suggested.

Once Gwestion agreed, the two of them started making their way to the exit. On the way out, the guards exchanged a look. "Lieutenant," one of them said. "That man we told you about came by. Not the one who used his permission slip, earlier. But the other one." Arnyn nodded, looking at Gwestion for a moment, before returning her attention to the guard. "Did he look tired?"

The guard blinked, but his companion looked amused and replied for him. "I guess he did, yes. How did you know about that, Lieutenant?"

"Just a hunch," Arnyn replied. "Well then. You can let him in when he comes by, next time."

"We can?" the first guard asked, a little confused.

"Yes. He needed a lesson. He has had it, now."

The men nodded, and Arnyn turned back to Gwestion. "Alright, let's go," she said, unperturbed and not really explaining anything as they went on their way.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Visiting Ranger of the North, Gwestion
Training Ground - Obstacle course
December 26th, early afternoon

If he was not already so tired, and the light fading into dusk, Gwestion might have chosen to stay and try out some of the trails that he'd glimpsed while they were going around from one course to another. But the winter sunlight was fading fast even though it wasn't that late yet, so he thought it best to not attempt that. So, he figured he might as well come back to the city and get cleaned up before getting some supper. He agreed to the suggestion of walking back together.

Until they arrived at the gate, he had mostly forgotten about the matter of Gladhron, but the moment the guard brought it up, he remembered. He listened as the guard spoke, and soon it made sense why Celume had not once questioned where his brother was. She had been told when she arrived. Of course. She was the lieutenant, he reminded himself. It was easy to forget that, when they were out in the quiet of the training grounds, going through the obstacle courses for hours. It had almost felt a bit like when they were in the north together, years ago. Now, they were returning to her present world, where she was the lieutenant and all of the rangers reported to her.

He maintained a mostly neutral expression while the guard was making his report, but when Celume glanced at him, she might have noticed a glimmer of something in his eyes, which could have been amusement, or satisfaction, or something of the sort. When she told the guy that Gladhron had needed a lesson, and that he had had it now, Gwestion glanced at her with a tiny smile before focusing on brushing a clump of dried mud from his sleeve.

He had managed to get his face back into a neutral expression when he looked up again, and nodded cordially to the guards as he and Celume passed through. Once out of earshot from the guards, he spoke to her quietly. "I wondered why you didn't ask about him. I was going to suggest that he'd probably learned his lesson, now." He glanced over at her with a faint smile. "Seems that we still think alike, for the most part." He commented. After that, they walked together in a companionable silence the rest of the way back to the city.

[Pele Alarion]

@Lantaelen

Captain Pele Alarion
Training with Abrazimir

Her attack had brought results, but Pele was very well aware that she could not just relax since it was likely to make Abrazimir more intent on winning - the growling that came from him as he retreated seemed to prove it. Having expended some of her strength in the attack, she used the break in their sparring to recover. Her shoulders relaxed and she took a few deep breaths though she always kept the staff ready and her gaze focused on the knight not to miss the beginning of any incoming attacks.

He did not come at her in retaliation right away though, and Pele was glad for a reprieve to rest a bit and think of further approach to take. She thought that a quick combination of moves worked best but it might not work all the time either for Abrazimir was likely to be more prepared, yet one move at a time would be too easy. She moved along with him as he circled, more often than not simply moving her staff out of the way when he tried to bring his in contact with it.

"What? You not up to attacking, hmm?" she teased back lightly, and tested him with a tentative return touch to one of his probes for contact. She then shuffled half a step back and changed the position of her hands to approximately divide the quarterstaff in thirds, both hands in an overhand grip before exploding forward with a series of quick attacks: first with the right end of her staff towards Abrazimir's left thigh, then the left end for his right shoulder, and a stab towards his middle with the right end once again. She moved as fast as she could to avoid receiving a full force of Abrazimir's staff on hers at any point in hopes of executing her attack smoothly without the danger of her staff being slammed out of her hands and returning to a more stable grip of one hand up and the other downwards.

[Lantaelen]

@Pele Alarion

Abrazimir Dimaethor
Sparring with Pele Alarion, Training Grounds

Two strikes taken, but with some successes too, mostly in Pele being worn down by the attrition of the match. Abrazimir’s breathing was still calm and settled, each inhale and exhale in effect aggravating the throbs and aches of where her quarterstaff had landed. But each agitation of the wounds only brought with it a sharp clarity of focus. He couldn’t have his thoughts wandering or being distracted by anything else. It hurt, and it helped put him more in the moment.

He should have taken advantage while she recovered but a more prideful, foolish part of him wanted a more earned triumph over the Captain at full strength. He’d give her…just a second more, and he answered her retort by more vigorously repelling her starting feints. This time he was careful not to overextend, watching observantly as she retreated after her probe. When she changed her grip and posture…he matched her, having hardly a heartbeat to get ready as she launched a series of attacks.

It was rapid, and down to the last nerve, and Abrazimir had to grit his teeth as he urged his limbs to be up in time to meet her assaults. Each one he parried and the attack to his center, he slammed down with a horizontal grip and knocked it to the sands, both their bodies tipped inwards a moment. There was no grappling or gripping allowed, but he dare=devilishly nudged his shoulder against hers and spun past her to now being at her original starting position, graceful as a dancer.

Both hands in the midst of his staff, feet apart in an anchored position, he used one end to deliver a series of jabs and hard pokes against her defenses, hoping to slip by somewhere to spear at her form, and score at least one point.

[Arnyn]

|
Hyand. Sergeant Dhalion De Mein | Hyand. Captain Arnyn Dealedwen
Cross-training and sparring - Years ago

He had almost become a shadow, of late. A shadow that was mostly silent, especially when others were around and she was issuing orders. The silence, whether others were present or not, however, was never uncomfortable. To the contrary. The Captain and the Sergeant had developed a shorthand that did not necessarily need to be verbalized.

Today, however, they were meeting for a very specific purpose. Neither Dhalion nor Arnyn was quite sure which of them had initially suggested it. But they were both officers of the sword division; and Dhalion used a rapier, whereas Arnyn used a longsword. Both were interested in refreshing their skills with the other's primary. Thus. They had found themselves at the ranger training grounds.

They had been at it for about an hour, by the time they sat down for a water break. Both of them were sweating.

"You have some skill with a rapier," Dhalion commented.

Arnyn recognized the small tone change as opposed to his regular speech. "You are surprised," she noted.

"Not surprised," he drawled. "I have seen you spar. I have seen you fight. The way you move with your longsword already told me that the rapier would suit you. I had simply not expected that-"

"You are surprised," the Captain reiterated, calmly.

Dhalion fell silent as he drank from his water.

Arnyn grinned a little.

"You should acquire one," he advised her.

"Why is that?"

"It truly does suit you. It is not as heavy as a longsword. It offers more maneuverability than a longsword. You move even faster with it than with your longsword. You will tire even more slowly. I do not see any downsides. Do you?"

Arnyn looked thoughtful as she gazed at her own water skin. "I don't know," she said, with a little shrug.

But he did. He knew what was holding her back. The longsword had been her father's weapon. And the one Arnyn had been using... she had saved up for it. Had it made. The ruby it held also signified some friendship she had with someone from Khazad-Dum. It was... a weapon with more than one special significance to her.
Dhalion smiled as he put his water away and returned to his feet. "However. Your longsword suits you, as well. It provides you with more power than a rapier could. And more versatility, since you can use it both one- and two-handed."

Arnyn smiled up at him. "Yes," she agreed, grateful that he had seemed to realize she was unwilling to discuss it. And wondering if he remembered everything she had told him about why she had chosen the longsword for her primary weapon. He probably did. Dhalion remembered everything. "I might still add one to my weapons collection," she allowed as she stood as well. Acquiring a rapier did not mean she had to start using it all the time, after all.

"It would be lighter to carry than that shortsword you sometimes drag around in addition to your longsword," Dhalion pointed out neatly.

The Captain rolled her eyes, and gestured with the rapier Dhalion had brought for her to use. She was ready to resume. The small gesture had told him as much. The Sergeant's mouth curled up into a brief half-smile.

A moment later, the two Hyandaner officers returned to their training. Their sparring. Their fight. Their dance. For it was as elegant as it was swift, and they were still closely enough matched to provide an interesting sight to any passers-by, even though Dhalion's mastery with the weapon surpassed Arnyn's. She learned a lot that day, as well as on many other days that were yet to come. And once their rapier-work was done, they repeated the same exercise with the longsword. As if neither individual had tired of the training, or indeed of each other.

[Pele Alarion]

@Lantaelen

Captain Pele Alarion
Training with Abrazimir

Even though her strikes were as precise and swift as she could manage Pele found that this time Abrazimir managed to follow and be a heartbeat faster to block her staff before it could score a hit. When the knight knocked her staff down she did not manage to escape from this fix and gave him a glare as his shoulder met hers when he moved past.

Quarterstaff was certainly not her first weapon of choice, not even the second, and the Captain could not rely on well-polished, smooth, nearly automatic moves she had with the sword when at full capacity. Now she felt weariness sneaking up on her both physically and mentally, but the sparring was not nearly over and she was not in a mood to give up her lead easily. Keeping the staff evenly distributed between both hands, she faced Abrazimir yet again.

The grip allowed her to meet and push away his relentless prods; however, it also prevented her from counterattacking from a distance without changing a grip or from closing in. Eventually she tried to sidestep one of the jabs while slipping both hands nearer to one end of the staff and attempting a low sweep for his shins.

[Lantaelen]

@Pele Alarion

Abrazimir Dimaethor
Sparring with Pele Alarion, Training Grounds

He could feel it. Almost even taste it. Victory! It was near. Abrazimir became so singularly focused on it, almost to the point of distraction. Like Pele, he was not overly skilled or familiar with the quarterstaff. There was little technique. Plenty of brute force though. It hadn’t availed him before. He was always so close, and then she would rely on precision to strike an opening, and score a hit. And he would think okay, I’ll reprioritize and try again. But always, he ended up deferring to this same strategy.

Brute force. Physicality. Use his size, his reach, his greater bulk, to force an advantage. It didn’t work the last two times, always coming up short. He’ll get it this time! He seemed so close, striking left and then right, right and then left, seeming so close to breaking the Captain’s guard. Left, and then right, and then-

Air.

It happened again. Pele sidestepped and lashed at his shin and there was no blocking it. It struck true. And Abrazimir let out such a growl in frustration and pain it may as well have been like a warg hiding in the bushes, sensing threats and challenge on it’s turf. Yet it fired his instincts up like no other. She scored a point…he immediately retaliated, despite his danger, striking Pele back on the side of his leg as he hastened passed her, seeking both refugee and space to recover. His foot hurt tremendously and he had a bit of a limp.

She scored a hit. He scored a hit. But she was still up one. And…they were both pretty damaged and exhausted from the session so far. ”Oof. Ow.” Abrazimir said, pretending to be a bit more hurt than he was, which was already formidable. There was a reason why she was the Captain and the teacher. And despite being a knight of some years, he was never too old to stop learning something new.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Trainee Trastion Leithor
First week of January
Meeting Kaylin for their weekly training session

It was very lightly snowing as Trastion passed through the gates into the training grounds. He had dressed in enough layers that it would keep him warm during the walk down here, but he could peel off a few as he began to warm up, then, on the way to the city, he could re-add whatever layers he needed to keep from cooling down too fast after the training.

He greeted the guards at the gate before heading for the training area where he and Kaylin met every week. He was about a half-hour early, however, because he wanted to have time to practice a bit with his ax. He'd only managed to learn a little bit about using his third choice of weapon before the Peleconnar he had been learning from went away. He wasn't very clear about the reason for that, only that the only training he'd managed to gain with his third weapon had been basically paused, as he could not find anyone else to help him with that. So, he'd been trying to practice on his own ever since.

While he waited for it to be time for Kaylin to arrive, Trastion found a practice dummy on which to practice the slashing and chopping moves he'd learned a while back, and tried to also remember the different ways of blocking with the weapon. After doing that for several minutes, he moved away from the dummy and tried to practice throwing the ax into a target nearby, but he was not having very much luck with that. So, after getting frustrated when his ax continually bounced off of the target instead of sticking into it, he returned to attacking the dummy with slashing and hacking moves.

Although he was trying to keep a sense of the time so he could put away his axes and swap to his sword by the time Kaylin got there, he got a bit involved in trying to adjust the angle of his slashing stroke to make sure he was doing it properly, because it didn't look quite right to him. So, he would still be working at that when she showed up to begin their planned training session.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Hyandaner Kaylin Maethyr
First week of January
Meeting Trastion for their weekly training session

She was either a few minutes early, or on time, or a few minutes late. Receiving a look and an 'armed to the teeth' comment from one of the gate guards, Kaylin had given the man her sweetest smile along with a little wave. Not having much time to spare, she headed straight over to where she was meeting Trastion.

When she arrived, Kaylin wasn't surprised to see Trastion working a practice dummy with his axes. Approaching quietly, knowing better than to startle a ranger, or a ranger in training, who was working with live steel, she watched the trainee a bit, until he paused for a moment and she judged it safe to make her presence known. "Hey, Tras," she greeted him. She was holding the Maethyr in one hand, had a hand and a half sword hanging from her belt, and her bow and quiver on her back. "You ready to try and hit me again today?" she asked with a smile, knowing full well that Trastion managing to get in a strike on her was no longer an exception.

Without waiting for an aswer, she unhooked her bow from the hook at her quiver, and then tookoff the strap holding the quiver, carefully placing both to the side of the sparring area. She also left the - at present - staff-shaped maethyr there, and took the sword from her belt. The scabbard was soon on the ground, with her other weapons, while the long blade remained in her hand. "Let's make it a good one," she half suggested, half ordered. "Since I'll be gone for the next few weeks." She grinned at the trainee. "Best leave me with a good impression while I'm off with your mentor. I know she'll ask..."

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Trainee Trastion Leithor
First week of January
Weekly training session with Kaylin

He glanced up, blinking in surprise to realize that it was already time for Kaylin to join him. Either that, or she'd managed to be a little early? But he doubted that, since she usually was not early. Still, he smiled upon seeing her. "Hey, sis." He grinned and set his axes down so he could grab his sword, which leaned against a nearby post. "Yeah, ready as ever, I guess." He laughed, though he took a moment to check that his armor was secure.

His smile faded slightly when she mentioned about being gone. "Right..." He held back a sigh. "Too bad I couldn't come along too." He mentioned with a shrug of disappointment. Although it had been his own decision and he had made the choice that he felt was wisest in his particular situation, Trastion had, in speaking to Kaylin and others, claimed that Arnyn wouldn't let him join the mission, due to him not being 'ready' enough. He was glad she'd said he could blame it on her, since it helped eliminate a lot of unwanted questions about why he would not be joining the mission. Thus, it made it easier for him to express to his friends, the fact that he would go, if it wasn't for her "denying him permission" or whatever.

Grinning back at Kaylin after she mentioned the likelihood that Arnyn would ask, he gave a nod and drew his sword after checking that his armor was all in place. The morning training sessions with Arnyn were certainly paying off, as he was getting a lot better at being able to 'survive' in sparring against Kaylin. More than survive, in fact, as he was getting better at landing a few blows against her, once in a while, too. Once he was ready to start, he gave a nod to Kaylin, and they began.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Hyandaner Kaylin Maethyr
First week of January
Meeting Trastion for their weekly training session

"Yeah. Arnyn should give you a break," she mused, regarding Trastion a bit more carefully. "You could have at least done the sea training, even if you're not going on the actual mission later," she stated her opinion. Given what she knew about Trastion's particular situation, she did wonder if there was a bit more to the whole thing than Arnyn and Trastion were letting on. After all, Trastion had joined the mission to the mountains in the fall, hadn't he? And his ranger skills had only improved since then, so... it didn't make much sense to her. It wasn't like they couldn't use another ranger to go with them. And while she could understand not taking rangers who were still in training, Cadil wasn't a full ranger yet either. So what was the problem for Tras?

To be honest, Kaylin wasn't in the best mood today - even though her smiles and grins didn't broadcast it. It was only visible in the small cues - things that would be normal for other people, really. The way her face immediate fell into serious lines as they started the sparring. The way she didn't laugh as she complimented Trastion when he almost got her a few moves into the training.

She'd had to up her game when sparring with Trastion. It had been happening gradually at first, but a week or two ago Trastion must have made some kind of mental or physical click. It was difficult to describe, but this was the third time in a row that she experienced the 'jump' in his progress. When he deftly executed a move Kaylin had never seen before and which she only managed to foil at the last second, she backed away a few steps in surprise. He had almost disarmed her with - whatever that had been. Her eyes narrowed as she engaged again, taking her speed and her own moves up a notch. While he was still nowhere near her skill level, she still needed to get used to his progress and the need to adjust her own approach to him.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Trainee Trastion Leithor
First week of January
Weekly training session with Kaylin

Trastion gave a wry little smile. "I mean, technically, she is giving me a bit of a break. It's not like we can do our daily sword training sessions while she's gone." He pointed out. "I'll still keep up some training but it won't be the same without her there, you know? So... I get a break." He shrugged.

As they went about their sparring, Trastion couldn't help but notice the lack of bubbliness about Kaylin's attitude. He wondered about it. He even wondered if she was annoyed at him for some reason, but he couldn't think of anything he'd done that would have annoyed her. Nor did it seem likely that she would be annoyed by the fact he was getting better at sparring against her. In fact, he thought it far more likely that she would be annoyed if he was not getting better, or if he was not putting his best effort into it. So, he tried not to worry about it too much, and focused on what he was doing.

When he pulled off one of the moves that Arnyn had been teaching him, it was hard not to smile in satisfaction, even though he wasn't successful in disarming her. It had been very nice to manage to work that in, as it was one of the newer things he'd learned from his mentor. However, before he could start feeling overly pleased with himself, Kaylin was coming at him again, and faster than before. He had to work a lot harder to keep her out of his space, knowing that if she got close enough, he wouldn't stand much chance. But then, almost before he knew how it happened, he hit the ground.

Even as he was falling, Trastions thoughts jumped to a move that he'd been working on with Arnyn lately. Could he do it? Could he at least try to do it? As he hit the ground, he made up his mind to give it a try, and therefore, reacted swiftly upon that decision. He tried to get a hold on Kaylin's arm while he swung his legs in a particular way to attempt the tripping move that, if he could pull it off, would bring her down with him. If he got really lucky, and could grab her arm, he might even be able to get onto his feet in the process, but he rather doubted he'd be quite that lucky. It was probably not the most smoothly executed move, but he reacted hastily while he was falling, and simply tried it while hoping for a miracle. As this was the first time he'd ever tried such a move in an actual sparring match, against someone besides Arnyn who had taught it to him, he didn't really expect it to work. So, if it did actually work, he'd likely be just as surprised as Kaylin... if not more.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Hyandaner Kaylin Maethyr
First week of January
Meeting Trastion for their weekly training session

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," she'd replied, as their swords clashed. "You won't say anything bad about her, even when she's holding you back." It was in part Kaylin's opinion, in part a tease, and in part (she couldn't help it) because they were sparring - and she definitely had a competitive streak.

As she took him to the ground, she could see he hadn't expected it. A smile was forming on her face, but suddenly she felt his feet around her legs. The smile started to shift into a frown, but before she well and good realized what he was trying to pull, he grabbed her arm. She knew what he intended on doing, then, as she felt his feet anchoring, but it was too late and part of her didn't believe that what she was thinking about was actually, truly, what he was trying to do. Surely, a trainee wouldn't -- She swore under her breath as she went down in turn, and her eyes widened as Trastion attempted to use her weight shift and momentum to pull himself back up. And freaking managed.

He let go of her arm just a little late, causing him to lean forward a little too much, and he almost staggered right into her, but he managed to correct himself just in time. Kaylin stayed on the ground, wide eyes looking up at him. Trastion's eyes were just as wide as he looked down at her. Both looked absolutely perplexed.

Kaylin blinked, relaxed her muscles for a moment, and sighed at her own failure. "Well. Didn't see that coming," she mumbled, shaking her head as she rolled to the side and got to her feet. "Damn, Leithor," she said once she was upright, shaking her head a little. "That was... I didn't know you were learning stuff like this already? That move you tried to disarm me with earlier? Now this? How long was it that Arnyn has been teaching you hand to hand? And you're putting it together with sword moves already, in actual live sparring?" She dusted some snow off her trousers. "What kind of program does Arnyn even have you on?? It took me years of training with different instructors back at Linhir before I could use something like that against them. You haven't even been training for one full year," she wondered. "Unless you already had a lot of training wherever you were, before?" she fished a little.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Trainee Trastion Leithor
First week of January
Weekly training session with Kaylin

He couldn't believe it had actually worked! He'd only tried it for the sake of giving it a try, and because it was the first option that came to mind. Probably because he'd been working that move with Arnyn so recently. But to actually pull it off!? With Kaylin, of all people? He was a little astonished. She looked just as surprised, and they must have made a comical sight, if anyone had been watching.

After a bit of a pause, Trastion offered a hand to help her up, since sparring had apparently paused while she questioned how he even knew that move. A little grin stole over his face. He couldn't help it. It sounded like he'd managed to do something Kaylin found impressive, and that was a good feeling. He shrugged a little though, in answer to her question, and ran a hand through his hair. "She kinda teaches everything together." He explained. "She says it's survival that counts, not just fancy sword stuff." He paused, a little unwilling to comment on the question about whether he had any previous training.

Instead, he pointed out, "We've been training pretty intently almost every morning, since.. what, August?" He shrugged. "So... all my training for sword and hand-to-hand has been a bit accelerated, since then, I guess." He gave a wry little laugh as the irony of something struck him. "Meanwhile, it's been about that same amount of time since I was able to get any actual training for my third weapon." He half-complained, with a little nod toward where he'd left his axe. "The Pelecconner who was helping me sorta disappeared about that time. I'm not sure if it was a family issue, or a mission, or what, but I've been kinda stuck on my own in that area." He sighed.

[Pele Alarion]

@Lantaelen

Captain Pele Alarion
Training with Abrazimir

Pele had managed to pull off a hit on Abrazimir's shin, but she was still too slow to get out of the harm's way herself. She clenched her teeth to keep back the cry of pain for she had not any protective armour on her legs, and this hurt.

She turned along with Abrazimir to keep him in front of her and kept her staff at the ready even as she wondered when was the last time she had heard so many growls in one sparring session. A small grin touched her lips at the thought even as she realised that the knight used it as a means to spur himself on with more fury. However, the 'ow' that followed was much meeker and Pele tilted her head in response.

"Should we call it a day?" she asked, though remaining at the ready just in case. "I figure both of us have collected some bruises already. Or do you still want to do swords? We can always schedule another sparring, if you want; after all we can't practice with all the possible weapons in one day. What'd you think?"

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Hyandaner Kaylin Maethyr
First week of January
Meeting Trastion for their weekly training session

"Every morning," Kaylin repeated. Right. She did remember hearing about that before, either from Arnyn or Tras. But... they were still doing that? She had thought it to be a temporary thing. Every morning, since August or September... Damn. Kaylin was interested, though, to hear Trastion say that Arnyn 'taught everything together'. The redhead wondered what that looked like. "Really?" she mumbled curiously. "Maybe I should come and watch, sometime. If your mentor isn't too private about it," she added, knowing Arnyn could be like that.

"She's right, of course," she admitted. "About survival being what's important." Kaylin made a face when Trastion brought up training with his third weapon. "The Lieutenant isn't wrong to focus on your primary and secondary, first," she said with a shrug. "But you do need enough skill with a third to advance through the ranks, don't you?" she mused out loud. Part of her wondered whether Arnyn was intentionally holding back putting Trastion through axe training because that way there was no risk of promoting him to full ranger in time for the Umbar mission. Just how much was Arnyn willing to protect the young man in front of her?

"Axes aren't really my thing," she said, an apologetic note to her voice. "But maybe, when we are done with swords... we could add in a little training. I can use the new weapon the smith made for me. You can use your axes. It won't do you harm to spar with them a little, right?" Inwardly, Kaylin wondered if Arnyn might sign off on an idea that pushed itself to the front of her mind. "Come on," she said, falling back into a battle stance. "Let's continue. Swords first. Then - the other stuff."

They spent the rest of the hour sparring with their swords, and Kaylin was glad for the cold. "You are definitely improving," she noted, upon realizing Trastion was using more and more advanced moves, and combining hand to hand with swordplay without having a need for two free hands. "Compared to August..." she shook her head as she wiped her blade dry and sheathed it. "Whatever Arnyn and you are doing, it's working. You're stronger," she assessed. "You're faster. You're better. In my opinion, your skill with a blade has well surpassed the trainee level." She put her sheathed sword down next to the maethyr, and then picked up that weapon and pulled it apart into the two separate swords. She motioned with one of them toward Tras' axes. Indicating for him to retrieve them.

"We're going on that sea training, soon. Can Arnyn set anything up with one of the other Pelecconner for you, while the rest of us are away? You'll have all that free time, with her not being here. Me not being here. Duinion not being here."

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Trainee Trastion Leithor
First week of January
Weekly training session with Kaylin

Trastion considered that for a moment, thoughtful. "You'd have to ask her about that," He decided with a little shrug. He had no objection, personally. But he knew that Arnyn might be a bit more private about who she let observe their training, so he wasn't about to tell Kaylin that she could, without checking with Arnyn about it.

As she mentioned needing the third weapon skill, in order to advance, Trastion shrugged. "I haven't really brought it up, to be honest." He admitted. He wasn't even sure if Arnyn was aware that he hadn't had a trainer in that weapon, for months. He'd simply been trying to practice the bits that he had learned, whenever he wasn't training with something else.

When Kaylin mentioned the idea of sparring with his axes, and her Maethyr weapon, he was intrigued. "I'm not sure how well I'd do at it, but it might be interesting." He agreed. "Actually, I only ever used axes in sparring once, and that was way before I'd even learned anything about it." He gave a little grin. "I kept trying to explain that I had no idea what I was doing, but the other guy just kept saying 'give it a try!' and 'you never know until you try it' and never actually tried to tell me anything useful." he shrugged. "Needless to say, I felt like I was blundering through the whole time. That was back when I was still very new, and still a recruit." He added with a little laugh.

As they launched back into sword sparring, he tried to seek more opportunities to use some of the other things he'd learned from Arnyn, and by the time they were laying their swords aside, he felt pretty good about it. Obviously, he knew that Kaylin could defeat him if she hadn't been holding back, but he felt that he was getting a lot better at this. He smiled when she complimented how he was doing, compared to back in August. "Thanks." He was a little surprised to hear that she thought he was above 'trainee level', and he figured it was due to the extra practice time that he and Arnyn were putting in together. Yet, that wasn't enough to let him move up to the next level, he knew.

After wiping his sword off, Trastion slid it into its sheath and then grabbed his axes. "Right, let's see how much of this I remember." He'd only used them against practice dummies, and he was really not sure whether it would be best to try and use an ax in each hand, or stick with just one ax in both hands. So, at least this sort of practice would give him some idea of what would feel comfortable, right?

Kaylin's question made him think for a bit. "I don't know. I think there aren't really that many, and they all seem to be pretty busy as far as I can tell." He shrugged. "Either that, or they come up with excuses not to train a new guy." He added jokingly. "I have been wondering what I should do, while you're all away. I mean, obviously, I'll keep training on my own, but it's not the same, you know?" Even Mourgan and Nal would be gone on the sea training, which left him very few people to even talk to, let alone spar with or train with, in other areas. He took one of the small-ish axes in each hand, and he tested their weight to see how it felt to swing them. It was much different from using a sword, so that would definitely be a little weird. But he had done a tiny bit of practice with Duinion, using a dagger in each hand, to give Eryn someone to practice against. A bit of unofficial training, so to speak. The weight and feel wasn't too far off from that, anyway.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Hyandaner Kaylin Maethyr
First week of January
Meeting Trastion for their weekly training session

"I'll be nice and hold back more," she promised when Trastion seemed doubtful of how good his axes would fare against her maethyr. Having to laugh a little at what this other person had apparently told Trastion in sparring one time, Kayling shook her head. "Well. That's one way to go about it," she grinned. "But, as Arnyn would say... not a very efficient one." A shrug. "But you don't always have to be efficient. Someone should teach your mentor that, sometime." Then she raised her eyebrows. "I bet you blundering through that whole session did teach you one thing," she mused. "That you actually need instruction. And that you should be grateful to anyone willing to give you any." She smiled broadly, raising the two blades up on either side of her as she lifted her arms. "Like me," she said, amused. "You should be very grateful to me," she repeated, nodding with obviously feigned wisdom.

When Trastion said a lot of the Pelecconner seemed very busy, Kaylin considered that. Some were going with them, to the sea training, of course. And the rangers left here, would be... needing to cover all of the shifts of those who weren't actually here. That probably didn't leave much room for training anyone. Not in those weeks, anyway. Nor when the mission to Umbar would be happening.
"Let's start slow." Kaylin moved on Trastion then, much more slowly than she had before, to give him time to think about what to do with his axes. After going through some offensive strikes with one of her blades, she started using both blades, to see if he could manage the coordination of two weapons at once.

"I do know someone," she offered, a bit hesitantly, while their four weapons were locked together. "Who might be able to help you with the axe. If... if Arnyn agrees."

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Trainee Trastion Leithor
First week of January
Weekly training session with Kaylin

Trastion grinned when Kaylin promised to hold back more. "Thanks, I've seen you handle that thing, and I can assure you I'm no match for you." He laughed with a nod toward her weapon, as she was drawing the blades. It was certainly an interesting, and impressive, weapon. He wasn't entirely sure how to even defend against something like that, having seen how she sparred against Arnyn with it. But he figured, might as well try it and get some experience!

"You can say that again," He agreed with a little laugh, when she commented that blundering through had probably taught him that he needed instruction. "Actually, I already knew that. I had asked for some, but got pushed into a sparring session instead." He shrugged. "I think neither of the other two people were in a teaching mood that day, maybe." Maybe it had even been a deliberate tactic, to test how he held up in such a situation.

He laughed a bit as Kaylin declared that he should be grateful. "I am very grateful, believe me." He assured her with a smile. "Slow sounds good." He agreed next, nodding as he readied himself to begin. When she moved in slowly with her first attack, he brought one of his weapons up to block, but it felt clumsy because he was using it as if it was a dagger, not an ax. He shook his head slightly at himself, and tried to remind himself how to do better for the next one. It had been months since his last lesson with the Pelecconner, but he'd learned a few things, at least.

It took him a couple of tries to get the hang of it a little more, but finally brought his axes up to form an X, and caught her blades on them. It was then that she mentioned that she knew someone. Trastion looked up at her with interest. "Really? That would be nice.. we could at least ask her about it. That wouldn't hurt anything, surely. But do you think they'd be willing to help?" He asked, unsure about that. Since he'd not had much luck in finding anyone willing to teach him in this area, he couldn't help but feel a bit doubtful that this other person would be willing, either.

With a slightly mischievous smile, he brought his foot up to push-kick her back away from him, and break apart their locked-together-weapons, although he did so gently. More in a playful way, to resume their sparring. "Is there some reason why Arnyn might not be alright with it, though?" He asked, wondering why she'd even mentioned that. He aimed a slicing attack toward her arm with one ax.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Hyandaner Kaylin Maethyr
First week of January
Meeting Trastion for their weekly training session

"No, you're not," she agreed with a half smile, at Trastion's comment he was no match for her. "Yet," she punctuated, before giving him a wink.

After a while Trastion seemed to be getting a feel for his axes again. When he pushed her away with a half-hearted shove from his foot, she rolled her eyes. But she'd still seen his slash, and she moved out of the way quickly, unable to stop her own reflexes and having a hard time still doing the slower movements. His axe only caught air, and one of her blades hit his arm, instead.

"I think he would be willing to help. He's mentioned missing sparring and stuff." Just once, but anyway. Kaylin didn't get the impression that he was too vocal about what he missed. Kaylin circled Trastion. "It's not because you're not as good with axes yet that you should forget about your footwork, or slow down in that department," she chided Trastion, before launching a flurry of attacks on him with both her blades - though she made sure to slow it down to a speed he should reasonably be able to keep up with. If not, he could call for a stop, right?

Meanwhile, she was thinking of how to explain. Maybe there was a roundabout way to do so that wouldn't immediately scare him off? As she and Trastion sparred, she tried to figure it out. But Kaylin was not the best at diplomacy. Or at being roundabout. Her strength lay more in being direct.

"Arnyn might not like it because this guy I have in mind not a ranger," she finally put forward. "Anymore. So I guess you would have to comfortable with it, too." A pause, as she did a sequence that forced Trastion to try and coordinate both his weapons in a more challenging manner, in order to keep himself from getting hit. She was still moving her blades slowly, however, to give him the chance to learn how such moves worked. "I was thinking about Macardil?" she half said, half asked.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Trainee Trastion Leithor
First week of January
Weekly training session with Kaylin

He couldn't help a little grin when she added 'yet' about him not being a match for her. He took that as an optimistic sign that she actually felt he could become that good, someday. And with Arnyn training him, he did feel that it was quite likely. Someday. Probably years from now, if he kept at it.

As she chided him for letting his footwork slack, he had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. He'd only taken it easy on the kick because he was only doing it in a playful manner. But he didn't make any comment. Her weapon had struck his arm, which was enough to remind him to focus more on his blocking, as well as his reflexes.

Since he was still figuring out the best way of using these weapons, when Kaylin began to come at him with a flurry of attacks, he mostly danced out of the way, throwing out a few blocks when he was able. With him evading most of her attacks, that enabled him to take more time to think about how he could use the axes in the best way.

Meanwhile, Kaylin returned to the topic of this ax guy she knew. He was a little confused though, when she mentioned that he needed to be comfortable with the fact that this guy was not a ranger. Anymore. Why should he care about that? He frowned in puzzlement while concentrating on what he was doing. "Why would I have a problem with that?" He asked, distractedly, while trying to angle his right-hand ax to deflect a blow. It didn't quite work as he'd hoped, and he was glad they were taking it easy, since he felt her blade scrape across his bracer.

When she dropped the name of the person she had in mind, Trastion blinked. He had just taken a step back to check his arm to make sure he hadn't gotten actually hurt, but now he was distracted. Macardil? He looked up from his arm, looking thoughtful. In fact, his thoughts were racing. He'd heard stuff, of course, but that wasn't what gave him pause. He knew who that was, and yet.. as far as she ought to know, he shouldn't. Except for whatever rumors had been circulating around the city. "Isn't that the guy," he said slowly, thinking back with a little frown of concentration, "that day, when Arnyn and you were playing that card game, and the guy came in and she went to talk to him and Trev? And then me and you went on our.. quest?" He asked, giving a little grin at that recollection. "That guy?" He asked, checking if he remembered correctly.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Hyandaner Kaylin Maethyr
First week of January
Meeting Trastion for their weekly training session

She noticed his pause, and stopped her attacks. Meanwhile, she did keep watching Trastion. Thoughtfully. Curiously, even. "Yeees," she drawled. "That guy. He was... dishonourably discharged, though." She frowned a little, glancing away for a moment. "Then again, that should be rectified by now to a... regular discharge, or something, I guess?" she wondered out loud, then shrugged. "And you might not be comfortable with him, because of his... history. Which... you know of?" she tried to check. It didn't sound like he did. But was that even possible? "When was it, again, that you arrived here? And when exactly did you join up?" Her eyes widened a little. "It was well after," she already realized, now she was thinking on it. "So - you don't know?"

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Trainee Trastion Leithor
First week of January
Weekly training session with Kaylin

Noticing that she had her paused in her attacks, Trastion took the time to focus and think about what she said about this guy. Macardil. Also known as Lord Himhathol, in the Belfalas circles Trastion had come from. He realized, of course, what history Kaylin was referring to. Now that he thought about it, he'd heard a bit about that from others. He gave a little nod when she mentioned that the dishonorable discharge should have been altered by now.

Trastion had no issues with the guy, of course. He just needed to think whether it would be any problem to work closely with him. Would he recognize Trastion? He took a moment to check whether his axes had acquired any dents or notched while they'd been sparring, while Kaylin was speaking. He, of course, knew who lord Himhathol was, from growing up in that life. But would lord Himhathol know who Anurion Taurhebor was, and was there any reason at all that he should recognize him as such? He gave some thought to that. He had seen the other guy in jousts, had clapped when he defeated Torthon in one or two of them, and so on. But he'd never actually met him. As far as he could remember, his family had never really had much interaction with that family, and therefore... it should be fine, right?

In fact, it seemed far more likely that Abrazimir and Ilisys would've recognized him. And Abrazimir hadn't. Or, at least, he hadn't given any indication that he had realized who Trastion was. He wasn't entirely certain about Ilisys, but then, she also acted oddly at times, according to everything he'd ever heard, so it was also difficult to tell with her. Either way... he decided that it might be safe to work with Macardil Himhathol, if he had no objection, and if Arnyn thought it was alright.

He lowered his ax after inspecting it, as Kaylin was asking when he'd come to town, and if he hadn't heard about the incident involving the former ranger. "It was spring," He answered. "But yes, I've heard about.. that. I know.. the basics, I guess." He shrugged. "Personally, I have no problem learning from him, if he is willing to teach me. As long as Arnyn has no problem with it, neither do I. I'd be grateful for some help in this area."

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Hyandaner Kaylin Maethyr
First week of January
Meeting Trastion for their weekly training session

"Right then," Kaylin said, admittedly somewhat surprised that Trastion did not only seem perfectly fine with learning from a - let's face it - disgraced former ranger. She knew Karis would balk at her even thinking that, let alone if she ever spoke it out loud, but it was what it was. No matter how you looked at it, pardon or no pardon, the man had still knifed his commander. Meanwhile, Trastion was not even asking her anything else about why she would suggest Macardil! How... unexpected. Was it carelessness? Or was it optimism?

"You had better ask Arnyn before I ask Macardil," Kaylin figured. "Pretty sure those will be the first two questions I'll get, when I ask him. Whether you know about... everything... and whether Arnyn has signed off on it. He would never even consider it, unless those two conditions are met." She sighed. "He is very into protocol, that way. But he should be able to teach you a lot. Axes are his secondary weapon, though. His primary's the longbow. I assume that won't be an issue, either?" If Trastion was alright with the man sticking a knife in his commanding officer's neck, surely the axe not being the man's main weapon wouldn't pose a problem...

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Trainee Trastion Leithor
First week of January
Weekly training session with Kaylin

Trastion nodded slightly. "I'll ask her the first chance I get." He agreed. It was interesting to hear that he wouldn't agree until the lieutenant had given her approval. But probably a good idea, he supposed. It would be pointless to agree to doing something if the lieutenant didn't give her approval.

Trastion gave a small nod. "I think I'm aware of.. everything." He answered with a little shrug. "I mean, I've heard things, you know, around the barracks and from others, around the city." He explained. "As long as what I heard wasn't all a lot of rumor and nonsense, then, yeah. I know, and if everything I heard is accurate.. and I mean, the king himself gave him a pardon, right? So, what right does anyone have to dispute that?" He shrugged. "Besides," He smiled a little. "It sounds to me like you trust this guy enough to suggest he give me some training. And I trust you."

As for the weapon thing, Trastion shrugged and gave a little smile. "What do I care whether it's his first, second, third, fourth, fifth or whatever weapon, as long as he knows enough about using it, to teach me how to use it?" He asked with a laugh. "Anyway. I'll ask Arnyn about it, and I'll let you know what she says, so you can talk to him. Do you think he'd help? I'd think he'd have more important things to do." Especially considering the fact that the guy was a lord, and had an estate to run, right? But Trastion didn't comment on the fact that he knew that, since he couldn't recall if anyone had mentioned that fact.