blood in the water [noah vs sk] day 2 / 1:45PM

The enemy is quick.

The knight's sword scrapes against the steel of his opponent's spear causing sparks to fly. They flicker out as quickly as they form, little bright strokes of light taken by the wind.

The knight raises his sword again, heavy stone form steady always, and moves to strike, then pauses as his enemy uses his brief advantage to bow back.

There is a sense of duty here, an adherence to a code that the knight can almost comprehend. It sparks memories of another age that fade just as quickly as the sparks from their two weapons meeting did.

His opponent's spear lances forward and the knight swings his sword, batting it out of the air like a cat's lazy paw, then the spear comes back, this time much more quickly.

It was a feint.

The tip of the spear drives itself deep into the knight's leg, screaming as it drags through the stone. A deep line follows the blade, as if to refine the knight's already perfect form.

This does nothing to slow him. Recognising the skill of this enemy, the knight pulls his spear from his back and lunges forward once again, a weapon gripped in both hands.

Perhaps he had been mistaken.

This boy hardly seems anymore skilled than those he had left behind. He doesn’t know what he thought he glimpsed within him. Even the thought of what he might be is long gone already, fizzled out like sparks from a flame.

But the knight does not know pain, he could never understand the sheer strength it takes the children he mutilates to stagger to their feet again.

The stone knight embeds its spear into his opponent, twisting his sword downwards as he does so. He feels the easy give of the boy’s flesh as his spear breaks skin, but where he expects the blade to gouge, it only skims.

Somehow, even pinned to the earth, the boy manages to avoid the worst of it.

The knight reassesses.

He knows not if it is skill or instinct that allowed for his enemy to dodge that but perhaps it matters not. The desire to live, to continue marching ever onwards is something that the knight does understand.

But the route to achieve that is never simple.

And the knight won't concede out of a growing respect for his opponent alone, no. It will take much more than that. There is one concession he can give the boy though.

The knight pulls his spear from the boy's stomach with a hard tug and tosses it to the side. He will meet him on the same level, or as close to it as he can.

Their struggle begins again as the boy rises, and the knight moves to meet him.