Hail yeah, he was born ready! ...Except the recent flailing panic of getting his weapon stuck was still too fresh for him to summon his swagger. Swallowing his pride, Tal merely gave a sharp nod of confirmation - and then immediately squeezed the spear shaft tightly as the target lurched into swooping motion, feinting and advancing with a kind of keen chaos that the courier struggled to anticipate.
But he'd stabbed it more than once, now, and the spear was feeling a little less foreign in his hands. He struggled, yes, but he didn't panic this time, and his feet moved with more confidence. Away, but not straight back; he retreated at an angle, moving to the side as he did so. It harried him, and he had trouble finding an opening to press his own attack into, but he lashed out with his own feints to discourage too hasty a closure.
The target's sudden charge was a surprise, but the courier's reaction came easier with the recent practice. He stepped back - a bait, to encourage the dummy to fling itself a little faster, a little harder at him - and then lashed straight forward with the spear at the last moment, intending his opponent to impale itself on the length of wood and dull iron.
But he'd stabbed it more than once, now, and the spear was feeling a little less foreign in his hands. He struggled, yes, but he didn't panic this time, and his feet moved with more confidence. Away, but not straight back; he retreated at an angle, moving to the side as he did so. It harried him, and he had trouble finding an opening to press his own attack into, but he lashed out with his own feints to discourage too hasty a closure.
The target's sudden charge was a surprise, but the courier's reaction came easier with the recent practice. He stepped back - a bait, to encourage the dummy to fling itself a little faster, a little harder at him - and then lashed straight forward with the spear at the last moment, intending his opponent to impale itself on the length of wood and dull iron.
