&& don't stop. [[axel]]
Jun 28, 2013 20:10:56 GMT -5
Post by Jasik on Jun 28, 2013 20:10:56 GMT -5
// Sebastian Riccardi ..His opponent was struggling. Sebastian could see that much, even with the mesh covering his opponent's face. The way he was tripping over his own feet, panting in his mask, occasionally stepping back to rotate his shoulder; all signs of weakness. Sebastian's sparring partner had been launching attack after attack with his foil for close to ten minutes. He had foolishly spent all of his energy early in the duel, trying to end the fight quickly, and when that strategy had failed, had continued his offensive without slowing down. Now, he was at the end of his fuse, sweating in his armor and struggling to keep thrusting his sword. Sebastian, meanwhile, was just as fresh as he had been going into the duel.
With an almost lazy flick of his wrist he pushed the tip of his opponent's weapon away from his chest, eyes narrowing. He knew that there would be an opening soon, that this kid was too tired to keep pushing himself this hard for much longer. Sebastian paused as the boy's arm visibly twitched, but it wasn't the start of an attack, but a small muscle spasm. A smile worked at the corners of Sebastian's mouth as he took a quick step forward, just as, yes, the boy stepped back to breathe; his hunch had been right.
The other boy realized what Sebastian was doing a second too late; he tried to bring up his foil again to parry Sebastian's attack, but was too slow. Sebastian hit the blade away, and with an unexpected burst of aggressiveness, lunged forward, planting the tip of his weapon firmly on his opponent's chest.
They held the position for a moment, the boy panting heavily, Sebastian utterly motionless. Then, as if a spell had been broken, Sebastian stepped back, lowering his foil to his side and pulling his mask away from his face. His hair was a little ruffled, but other than that he looked perfectly fine; not even a bead of sweat clung to his brow. With a smile -- not condescending, but friendly -- he tucked his mask under his arm and reached out his free hand to shake. "Good fight," he said in an amiable, if slightly superior tone.
Glaring, the defeated boy reached out, slapped his hand without even bothering to shake it, and turned and stalked off. Sebastian shrugged and dropped his own hand, walking back over to his fencing bag. Guess some people just can't lose gracefully, he thought idly, a slightly dark flicker in his eye, imperceptible but still noticeable to him. Then again, nobody really can.
From his bag he withdrew a large water bottle. Before heading to the changing room, he sat to watch one more match between two other aspiring Careers. He sipped at his water, an interested expression on his face, but inwardly feeling a little disappointed as he watched the two attack each other. They were all explosive energy, no technique, probably more adjusted to heavy axes and polearms than the finer weapons they wielded now. Enough maybe to take on each other in a fencing match, but nowhere near Sebastian's own caliber.
Sebastian sighed a little and took another swig of his water. This is a waste of time, he thought bitterly. He had been doing this for several weeks now: staying after his own training ended to watch a couple of duels between other students, hoping to find a suitable training partner. But he had watched almost everyone who attended this rather large training program, and each one he thought showed potential ended up being a pushover. Maybe I should try a different weapon, he mused. He had long since mastered rapiers, sabers, and foils; maybe it was time for him to try his hand at a fighting style he was not as accustomed to. At least it would give him something to do beyond felling any halfway-decent fencer in this establishment.
Entertaining the idea a little, he slipped his water bottle back into his bag and made his way to the changing rooms. Of course, I'll have to find someone who's willing to take on a newbie to whatever weapon I decide to pick up, he thought. But there were plenty of students who studied here, and quite a few were still at the other training stations. He ducked into the empty changing room, quickly shed his training gear and donned his street clothes, and emerged once again, making his way over to some of the other dueling areas. Now was as good a time as any to scope out some possible training partners, while the idea was still fresh in his mind.
ooc; This is pretty sloppy, I know, but hey, it's my first real post in over a year, and my first one ever with Sebastian. Be nice :3