caughtinanetwork | .11

Entry tags:

.11 - audio;

I understand the basic premise behind... Valentine's Day.

[Hubert sounds a little awkward, uncertain and even a little nervous as he speaks.]

But I wasn't here last year, and we don't have a holiday like this in Strahta. Would anyone be willing to give me a little more information behind it? What's common for ah... not... "couples" but perhaps two close friends... ?

[Short, sweet and... mostly to the point. Mostly.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Well that's an effective thing to do. Shiro ends up having to pull back from his previous maneuver to pull away from Hubert's second blade, effectively freeing both of Hubert's swords again. He's just outside of stabbing range, unless Hubert lunges or something, but the point has been made. Still, Shiro is impressed.]

Ha! Wasn't expecting that little move there.

[A noticeable smirk appears on Hubert's normally stoic features. It's not an attempted lunge or stab that comes Shiro's way next, but shots.

As soon as Hubert has straightened out, there's an audible click from the weapons, and with a flick of his wrists the two blades go back.]

Flare Shot!

[From the now transformed pistols, somewhat weak shots of fire and energy are launched at Shiro.]

[Cheater!!1 Shiro thought this was going to be swords-only, or else he would have kept the rest of his (fire-resistant) clothes on. There's an 'oh shit' look on his face for a moment before he dives to get out of the way of the fire, rolling when he hits the ground and ending up bracing himself on one knee when he comes to a stop.]

Oi oi, don't burn off my eyebrows!

[A lesser man probably would have laughed at that, but he is smirking still.]

I did warn you I use multiple styles. One can't always rely on allies to be at your back when you're surrounded, after all. I'm capable of taking on long and short range attackers, regardless of the situation.

[He snaps the guns back down, momentarily halting the sparring match.]

If it's any consolation, it does make me a weaker attacker over all. I'm not nearly the powerhouse people like the Captain or my brother are.

[Shiro will go ahead and stand up now, stretching out his arm as he does so. He wasn't expecting to suddenly roll around like that, and already he can feel it in his bones. He's going to be sore tomorrow.]

There's no shame in that, versatility is a skill worth having. I couldn't complain about it anyway, I did the same exact thing.

[Though he's better with guns than swords.]

It sets me apart from other Strahtan soldiers, certainly. But I can still see where Yukio gets his skill from.

[Shiro's movements gets a frown from Hubert, and whatever triumph he was feeling leaves quickly.]

I'm sorry, that was a bit of a cheap shot, wasn't it? Are you alright?

[Shiro chuckles at that.]

I've been using swords and guns longer than you've been alive. At least give me a little credit.

[Cheap shots he can tolerate, demons don't fight fair anyway. The big thing is he doesn't want to go all-out on Hubert yet, partially because he wants to keep some things a secret and partially because the last thing they need is an escalating conflict that destroys parts of the island. If that fireball was a weak attack, he can only imagine what a strong one is like.]

[He hasn't even broken in to Mystic Artes yet, Shiro. Destroying the island would be an understatement.]

I'm allowed to be concerned. I'd rather not have the wrath of your sons coming down on me for a poorly dodged shot.

[Again, it's not an age thing. Hanging out with Malik, Hubert got first hand lessons on how a seemingly calm old man can nearly take down a building if riled enough. He really just doesn't want to accidentally injure Shiro and have it turn in to an incident with either Okumura twin.]

[He was about to argue that his kids are smart enough to figure out this isn't an actual fight if something goes wrong, but he stops. No, Rin would definitely assume something was up. By the time he got healed up and would be able to run damage control, things would have probably escalated too far.]

You're right, if I just keep messing around like this, an accident could happen. I'll go ahead and treat it more seriously, then.

[And he'll ditch the wooden sword for the more dangerous one he brought.]

[And Hubert, through at least some second hand knowledge through Asbel and having been present when Vatheon nearly burned, knows that one of them does have a temper. His concerns are somewhat valid.]

Good.

[Bringing the blades back to staff form, he takes a stance.]

Whenever you're ready then.

[Well, Shiro already got a feel for how Hubert handles attacking, so he decides to see how he handles being on the defense. He'll run up and do a horizontal swipe at Hubert, aiming a bit low, at about knee-level.]

[It's a close swing, enough that he actually feels it pass very near his clothing, but a quick downward swing keeps it from clipping too close. The blades clank together noisily, but rather than retaliate, Hubert lets them deflect and returns to his defensive stance.]

[In a fluid movement Shiro pivots on one foot, sliding his sword out and to the side, and continues on with his turn to bring the sword in a wide arc and aim it back at Hubert again. This time it's also moving upward and in, so it's aiming a bit higher.]

[Seeing the upward movement and having it be too close to get a safe block with just the staff, he quickly snaps the two halves apart, instead catching the blade with his two crossed just inches from his face.

The tip of the blade still gets too close for comfort, but amazingly he doesn't flinch too much, maintaining his stance.]

[That's actually pretty cool, Shiro was totally expecting Hubert to flinch there.

But with Hubert's swords occupied, Shiro will shift his weight to one foot and try to trip up Hubert with the other, sweeping forward with his leg and pushing back against the two swords which have his pinned.]

[There's a reason Hubert likes to jump back and take long range shots. He's good at short range attacks, but he would admit that it can be a weaker point. His stance was strong, but not enough to keep Shiro's leg from catching him.

He stumbled back, unable to regain his balance, which resulted in him landing ungracefully on his ass.]

... well that was undignified.

[Shiro is actually glad he was able to get the upper-hand on Hubert at least once, because he had the feeling Hubert was going to kick his butt and make him look like a useless old guy.]

Fighting rarely is dignified.

[He offers a hand out to Hubert to help him stand up.]

True... and I suppose I am more out of practice than I thought.

[He sighs, but takes Shiro's hand to get back up.]

Moments like these, I wish Asbel and I had sparred more before he was sent home...

It would be nice, but it's hard to control that kind of thing. The best you can do is make use of the time you have now. Luckily there's a few swordsmen here so you shouldn't have too much trouble finding sparring partners.

I'm aware. I'm... grateful for the time he was here, however brief it was.

But you're right. I simply need to get back in the habit of it.

It seems like you're doing pretty well even without sparring.

I'm certain a couple of months of slacking wouldn't completely erase my talents.

[Sound more haughty, Hubert. Really.]

Ha! Now that reminds me of a saying. What was it? "Pride cometh before the fall", that sounds about right.

It's not pride if it's the truth.

[Haha o Hubert. Shiro just chuckles at that.]

Right, right. Did you want to take a break, or keep going?

action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action