[Training] test cutting

and on to the glory at my right hand

"You know," Ronin is saying as they head along the vibrant expanse of the Rainbow Road, "for all the time you've had that rapier, I can't believe you've never learned to properly swordfight." Unable to keep the grin out of his voice - with the length of their marriage and years of trauma and history under their belts, it's a relatively exciting experience to be able to teach Remi something new.

Dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a tank top, Ronin carries a couple of training swords over his shoulder (nabbed from the dragoon barracks when no one was watching, of course). "I need you to promise not to actually try and spar me with the real thing though. Deal?" One in ten might not be bad odds, and it won't kill him forever, but still, going down for a season at a time like this? Probably unwise.

ronin

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

He said "I bet you don't remember me"

"I don't know why I have to keep defending myself about this." Remi counters with a playful roll of his eyes, resisting the urge to make the obvious joke by a very thin margin. "Besides, it isn't like I have to be any good. All it takes is one slice. If anything it's less important now that I can just waltz into danger and have you bring me back from the dead if anything goes really wrong."

Dressed similarly to Ronin just in different colours, Remi can't help but chuckle and waggle his eyebrows at the Knight. "But I thought you were oh so fast, husband. I'm surprised you think I could even get you." So saying Remi reaches out to snag his arm around his husband's hip, pulling them jerkily together in order to plant a clumsy kiss on the Knight's cheek.

and I said "only ever other memory"

and on to the glory at my right hand

"The way everyone talks about me being able to bring them back from the dead, you'd think I had an infinite number of resurrections tucked away in my pocket. I have two," he says dryly to Remi. "And they're no good if I'm the one who accidentally gets stabbed with Wilde's Rapier." Stumbling a little as he's drawn against the other man's side, Ronin's feigned annoyance soon melts away so he can accept the kiss to his cheek.

"Bold of you to assume I would ever try to dodge out of your way," he murmurs, nosing affectionately into Remi's curls before peeling away with obvious reluctance, gesturing around at the flat area. "This should work. Here - pick your poison." He offers out two identical training swords; naturally, this means one of them must be far superior in ways only known to young soldiers.

ronin

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

He said "I bet you don't remember me"

"Maybe that's something you should have thought about before reviving Melita in front of the entire beach." Remi counters, before instantly tutting under his breath in advance of the what was I supposed to do that he was sure was coming. "Either you could have lied or brought her into Isla's tent." It isn't an entirely serious criticism of course; gossip would have gotten out either way. "Fine, fine. I won't stab you with the real thing." Remi acquiesces with a crooked smile.

Blushing a touch at his husband's affections, as Ronin steps away Remi sighs as he looks down between the two swords. "Oh well, only an idiot would choose that one, so.." Plucking the one in his husband's left hand, Remi loosely adjusts his grip with a slight wrinkle of his nose. Ronin had shown him this before, but gods it still felt so bulky even though it weighed practically nothing. "Now, before you go getting all fancy on me with the footwork and with the sword being an extension of my arm nonsense, keep in mind that if we're all together fighting something, I'm probably going to have to bully my way to the front and get in a lot closer than normal."

and I said "only ever other memory"

Instead of any ominous, life-threatening scene, you are greeted by the sight of cloud wyrms hovering slightly beyond your reach. They twist and turn through the air, puffy forms following their wakes; giving some refuge from the sun.

One even seems to look at you, uttering a soft greeting, before moving on, after its brethren.

---

You’ve encountered a Cloud Wyrm. This counts as an uncommon creature encounter for the purposes of levelling, but does not count as a Random Event for levelling or MP. There will be no further admin/re intervention. If you choose to follow this creature, you do so at your own risk, however, just having it in this thread is enough to satisfy your levelling requirements.

Cloud Wyrm (uncommon/mythical) - Cousins of the dragon, these small and serpentine creatures boast no wings or destructive breath. Rather, they breathe clouds. Their four-legged white bodies can be seen slithering through the air, puffy clouds streaming from their mouths to ease the intensity of the sun on the plains. They never get any bigger than a weasel, and are known as docile, playful creatures, and they seem to enjoy collecting shiny things.

and on to the glory at my right hand

Perhaps wisely, Ronin only responds to Remi's comments with a quiet raise of his eyebrows; given that the Bastion answers all of the objections ready on his tongue - and ties the conversation up in a nice little bow, it's entirely unnecessary for the Knight to do anything more than let his husband work it out himself. "Mmhm," he drawls when Remi is finished, before waiting for him to select his (obviously better) training sword.

Swinging his own a few times as if to warm up his arm, Ronin can't help but scoff at his husband, though he nods his agreement nonetheless. "Typically, a rapier is used less for bullying and more for playing it smart and safe and waiting for the right opportunity. I guess we can just imagine that you always have the right opportunity by virtue of being you," he says, before spreading his hands. "Fine," he says. "Pretend you've just bullied your way to the front and I'm your opponent. Hit me with your best shot."

ronin

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

He said "I bet you don't remember me"

"Am I wrong?" Holding out his hands and raising his eyebrows, the Bastion mirror's the Knight and also begins to give his sword a few experimental swings. It's far clunkier than Ronin's movements as one might expect, with Remi thrashing his sword about rather than letting it sing through the air. "I know you know more about this than I do, it's just...I just don't want us to lose sight of how things might actually go when the time comes." He says, shrugging apologetically for having stepped out of line before clearing his throat and trying to square up to his husband.

"I...suppose I'd do..this?" Without much thought at all, Remi pulls his arm back and slashes forward and down with the practice sword as if it had been a blunt cleaver with real weight behind it instead of a much more finely built weapon.

and I said "only ever other memory"

and on to the glory at my right hand

"Of course you're not wrong," Ronin says with a smile, and he waves off the other man's apology. "Everything I know is meant to be used on an opponent who can't teleport or move with inhuman speed, or be potentially the size of a fucking void dragon," he points out. "Who knows how it's actually going to go when the time comes?" Perhaps one of The Family will be a master swordsman, in which case, gods, maybe they'd be better off just nailing the rapier to Remi's hand so it can't be stolen.

Eyes widening at the sudden fwip of the practice sword cutting through the air towards him, it's pure instinct that has the Knight moving, and a great deal of shock after that to see the sword actually missing him (dem rolls tho). "Er," he says, helpfully. "If you were holding an axe, absolutely. I feel like a sword like yours might just get stuck if you do that, though. More like this?"

So saying, the Knight turns and attempts to thrust the blade forward to needle at the Bastion's shoulder.

ronin

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

He said "I bet you don't remember me"

"So what I'm hearing is that you don't know what you're doing, and you just wanted an excuse to wack me with a wooden stick?" Remi teases as if this was all about to be a giant waste of his time.

As Ronin dances out of the way, a ricochet of pain snarls through the Bastion's shoulder as the practice sword misses its mark and Remi's arm is forced to follow through the inelegant swing. "Ow, that didn't feel great, either." He grunts, before shuffling his feet backwards with far less grace than Ronin just had.

"What, like I'm trying to just pop you?" Certainly that's how it had looked, and though Remi wasn't above looking stupid if it meant being effective, as he poked his sword towards Ronin's shoulder, it was with an unhappy grimace on his face.

and I said "only ever other memory"

and on to the glory at my right hand

"I can neither confirm nor deny that," Ronin says with a cheeky smile, stepping back after prodding at Remi's shoulder with his own sword. "Though let's be honest, I don't need to contrive something like this to hit you with a stick." He could just, you know, do it. Regardless, as the other man overbalances, recovers and then tries it out himself, Ronin purposely takes the hit this time, though he has to brace himself against the force of his husband, yes, trying to pop him.

"That's pretty much it, yeah," he confirms, rubbing at the bruise he knows will bloom on his shoulder. "I assume you need to actually cut or draw blood for the rapier to have a chance to do its thing, right? So you're better off trying to needle someone with the blade than just swing it around."

Gesturing for Remi to try again, this time Ronin will attempt to parry him with the practice blade, making the Bastion work a little harder for it.

ronin

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

He said "I bet you don't remember me"

"No you don't, but it seems like the sort of thing you'd do anyways." The Bastion points out with a laugh.

Having expected Ronin to effortlessly move out of the way again, as the tip of his sword connects with his husband's shoulder Remi hisses in an apologetic breath over his teeth. "I'll kiss it better later." He vows, before eyeing the end of his sword. "I wonder if I could quest to have it made into a clever." Gods knew he'd be more suited to it then.

Clearing his throat and resetting his stance, Remi dodged forward in the sort of blocky rush that suggested he didn't much care what collateral damage he took in the process. Meaning to try and shove his shoulder against Ronin's instead of parrying with his sword, he'd then pull his arm back before trying to stab it into his husband's side.

and I said "only ever other memory"

and on to the glory at my right hand

"It does, doesn't it?" Ronin says, all smug pride and cheer even as they begin to spar with each other in earnest, and he tips the other man a wink for his promise of kisses. "Don't say that, or I'll never try and get out of your way," he warns (as if he doesn't have to try exceedingly hard to dodge the Bastion's blows on a regular day, such is the other man's speed).

"I imagine Mort could be able to change its shape to whatever you like," he agrees, fully prepared to parry and finding the other man barrelling at him instead which, in fairness, is exactly the sort of thing Remi could and should do in a real fight. Bracing, the Knight is focusing so much on not being thrown off his feet that the strike at his side hits clean.

"Ow," he complains automatically, spinning away and retaliating with a smack to Remi's ass with the flat of his practice blade. "We'll have to get you a bat, or a hammer at this rate."

ronin

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

He said "I bet you don't remember me"

"I'll kiss that better too." Remi says with a laugh, his feet skipping off the ground as he feels the dull thwack of Ronin's blade against his ass. Trying his best to use the momentum to quickly turn, the Bastion lets his arm jut out, his blade aimed towards Ronin's hip. It was the sort of thing a man like the Knight was probably capable of doing with his eyes blindfolded, but for Remi it felt just as awkward as it probably looked.

"I'm just...I'm just not made for a weapon like this." He says with a small shrug of his shoulders. Very likely Mort could change the weapon for him, but it did make him wonder...

Holding up his hands in mock surrender, Remi looked thoughtfully at the practice blade in his hand. "Am I the right one to have this?" He wondered, glancing up at Ronin through his curls before letting his stare drop back to the weapon as if he really was holding the rapier. "Or am I just...being selfish or foolish in thinking that I'm the best one for it?"

and I said "only ever other memory"

and on to the glory at my right hand

"You'd better." Grinning, Ronin is just about able to dance out of the way of the other man's attempt to skewer his hip, his sword slicing through to clack against it briefly. Neither man is out of breath but the Knight, for one, will have some bruises to show for this encounter, and he fully does expect his husband to play nurse when they get home.

Ready to swing again when Remi holds up his hands, it's with an indulgent smile that Ronin gives a little mock bow before moving to put the practice swords away. "It's true - you were always better with projectiles, if I remember rightly." That or being a hawk, or lion, or manticore, or kraken. Nothing that requried poking a blade at people, anyway."

But that brings them to the Bastion's real point, Ronin straightening up and tilting his head, meandering back to stand with his husband and leaning in to kiss his curls. "I can't answer that for you," he says; something of which Remi is likely already aware. "As of right now, it's yours. I've no doubt you could learn to wield it, if that's what you want. But is that what you want? Who would you give it to, otherwise?"

ronin

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)