[Training] measuring the distance between

Where there's life there's hope.

It seemed appropriate to check the other areas of Caido for what clean-up might need to occur now that the Family was gone. It hadn't appeared to affect the Void creatures' presence, and he took note that the Climb was one of the few areas where they still lingered. As he made his way through the smothering climate, Zavien decided to take a brief stop in the Springs, remembering that flowers were still important despite how much he wanted to think everything was over. 

Pulling at the damp collar of his tank top, he watched as Sol immediately dove into the water. The little dragon didn't seem to have a problem with the heat, even as his bonded was appropriately drenched in sweat, his hair slick against his head to make it look like he'd already gone swimming himself. Zavien envied the resistance, doing his best not to think of cool breezes and ice cream as he walked deeper into the cavern.

Zavien

Maea

Waking from the dream
Witnessing the smoke that's rolling in

Frey's breath had become a regular haunt of hers over the past year. Partly due to necessity, as her life had circled around the search for flowers, but mostly because she genuinely liked the cavern. Between the luxurious soaking in hot springs, the possibility of discovering a Lily and as a welcome break from the constant red glow of lava streams and pools and bloody waterfalls, there were few reasons not to make a stop in the area when she had the chance.

As the sound of approaching feet echoed in the distance, Shii rose from the nest of Maea's clothes where it had been resting. Drifting off to find out who was passing by, it made a beeline to brush against her cheek. Smiling faintly, the petite ancient slowly shifted her pose, her limbs painting elegant lines as she alternated between fighting stances. Partly a stretch and partly a way to measure her flexibility, it reminded her of certain dances she'd seen on the beaches of Torchline. Though she didn't sweat from the heat, perspiration beaded along her temples all the same, dampening the white linen of her shift along with the steam until the knee-length garment clung to her body. Absently, she let the images shared from Shii's vision flow across her consciousness - depending on who it was, she might not wish to linger on her own for much longer.

The end is what you fear
The scent of embers lingers in the air

Where there's life there's hope.

Eyes searching for lilies along the water, he only noticed Maea in his periphery, suddenly turning to glance at her. Although they'd met multiple times since their uncomfortable run-ins in the Greatwood, he still found himself wondering if she might be in one of those moods he'd found her in. The lack of fire was a good sign, although he wasn't familiar enough with Ancients to know if he was missing any other obvious indicators of what her emotional state currently was. 

Deciding it was better to err on the side of caution, Zavien made his approach obvious and nonthreatening. He made sure he was well within view, not bothering to lighten the soft slap of his bare feet on the wet stone but making sure to offer a polite smile and small wave. "Hi Maea. I hope I'm not interrupting." Trying not to let his eyes linger anywhere inappropriate on her thin, damp clothing, he took in the stance she held like a seasoned soldier. "I don't think I've seen those forms before. Are they for fighting?"

Zavien

Maea

Waking from the dream
Witnessing the smoke that's rolling in

If it had been Astaroth or Thalassa, she would have left the moment their silhouette became visible in the low light. Fortunately, it was only Zavien. The irony that she was one he might hesitate to approach was not lost on her, and so she straightened out of her stance with a welcoming smile when he did choose to approach. Theirs had been a very unfortunate altercation, and the only way to prove that her outburst had been the exception, not the rule was time.

"Hi there. Not at all - I was about done." Feeling a bit self conscious, she pulled at the dress to loosen it from her skin, though the effect didn't really make a difference. At least it wasn't see-through. "Ah, yes. I picked them up from street fighterss in Torchline... and dancers. Self taught, really." She hesitated before asking, "Would you be interested in a spar? It's been a while since I practiced them in action... Unless you're busy, of course. You don't have to." She'd spent most of her time focusing on magic and her shifts, and it would be a shame to let the hand-to-hand skills stagnate. But if he'd rather not, she would understand.

The end is what you fear
The scent of embers lingers in the air

Where there's life there's hope.

He was immediately relieved that there were no fireballs or searing words in her returned greeting, his shoulders easing just slightly. Zavien's smile was a little warmer as she spoke of her self-taught methods, nodding in approval. "Dancers. That makes sense. They have incredible strength." And balance and body mechanics and all the important things that mattered in a fight. He wasn't much of a dancer himself, but he understood the benefits. 

Her offer had his eyebrows raising, pleasantly surprised. "That would actually be really helpful. I need to have someone use my cuff against me, if you're willing?" He removed the cuff from his wrist, offering it forward. If she paid attention, she might notice that it was the same leather bracelet that he'd purchased when they'd run into each other before, although the embossed scale design now glowed slightly with Safrin's starlight. "It adds a few feet to attacks, so you could stay a little farther away if you want." His shoulders came up in a shrug, willing to spar whether she accepted the request or not.

Zavien

Maea

Waking from the dream
Witnessing the smoke that's rolling in

A wide smile warmed her expression as he accepted her offer. Intrigued, she accepted the cuff and turned it over in her hands - indeed recognising the design, and realising right away how unaccustomed she was to handling magical items. Aside from her chakram and a fireproof robe, she didn't own any. "Sure. I can try - might be very interesting." If it extended the range of her kicks, she might actually land a few even on a tall, rangy fellow like Zavien.

Waving Shii off to the side so they wouldn't get caught up in the spar, Maea backed up to a relatively flat bit of ground and slipped the bracelet onto her arm. Sized for someone with thicker limbs than her own, it wound up around her forearm rather than wrist, but at least sat relatively still. "Whenever you're ready," she told the dragoon with a toothy grin, offering an inviting wave of her hands - a 'come hither' as welcoming as an anglerfish lure, and about as safe. Sinking into a ready stance, a thrill of excitement sparked like electricity through her limbs - this seemed like it would be fun.

The end is what you fear
The scent of embers lingers in the air

Where there's life there's hope.

Unfortunately for Maea, it would only extend any attacks from her hands but she was still welcome to throw some kicks in the mix. He was just happy to have someone to spar with, but as she beckoned him forward, he hesitated. Zavien was accustomed to letting the other person attack first, so he opened his mouth initially to protest, but when he saw her slink down into her stance - a cocky grin on her face - he got the feeling she'd be able to handle whatever he threw her way. 

Shrugging his shoulders, Zavien took his own position, hands raised in a relaxed boxing-like style that he'd adopted over the years. He let out a deep breath before lunging forward. It wasn't a strong or aggressive attack, but he punched out a testing fist for her shoulder, trying to gauge how intense or serious this was going to be.

Zavien

Maea

Waking from the dream
Witnessing the smoke that's rolling in

If the excited twitching of her tail was any indication, Zavien could really do no wrong at the moment. While she may look small and delicate, Maea had spent many years honing her hand-to-hand combat skills - and while certainly no expert, she did know what she was doing.

As the first punch came flying towards her shoulder, she took a step aside and twisted out of the way in a smooth dodge. Countering with a balled up fist, she aimed it towards Zavien's solar plexus, higher up than her own by a good distance but a good first target to gague his reflexes. Moving felt good; the aversion towards fighting she'd experienced at the start of the year was waning into non-existence. It was too bad that Thalassa hadn't had the patience to wait - Maea thought she'd even be okay with facing the pirate in a bout again.

1/4

The end is what you fear
The scent of embers lingers in the air

Where there's life there's hope.

The test punch was an easy dodge, one that Maea took advantage of as she slipped gracefully out of the way. Zavien followed her with his eyes, assessing for her reaction and response. She seemed to take it a lot more seriously than he was, immediately darting in to punch towards his sternum without an ounce of mercy. 

He clenched his jaw and did his best to step away from the contact, but the cuff had him feeling the impact of her fist clearly against his chest. It pushed him back a step, a huff of breath escaping even as he kept his hands diligently raised. Chuckling through the lost breath, Zavien shook his head. "Geez. I guess there's no escaping that one." Which meant distance wasn't going to be his friend; he would have to dodge around the attacks. 

Stepping forward, he moved for another punch to her opposite shoulder, already preparing to twist out of the way for her next attack.

Zavien

Maea

Waking from the dream
Witnessing the smoke that's rolling in

"Nope!" she grinned back, pleased to have the punch land. "But man, that's a weird feeling - connecting before my fist even got close." Shaking out her hand to escape the weird tingle up towards the elbow, Maea deftly put up one arm to block his punch to her other shoulder. She appreciated that he pulled the punch somewhat as her arm numbed from the impact. Grunting with the eeffort of staying in place, she sent the freevhand back towards the same spot on his core - wanting to test whether he would remember to keep his distance. The cuff shifted on her arm, threatening to slip off - and the distraction softened the charge, opening a crack in her stance.

Roused by the commotion, Shii was waking up from its nap. Rising like a miniature sun from its nest of velvet, it drifted around the perimeter it's bonded had established, observing the fighters for a moment. Then, recognising Zavien, it brightened with a soft hooting noise and took off across the water - looking for the dragon that should be nearby.


2/4

The end is what you fear
The scent of embers lingers in the air

Where there's life there's hope.

Chuckling, he paused as Maea shook her arm out. "Right? It feels strange to see your punch land when it doesn't touch anything." He'd felt similarly when fighting with his cuff for the first time, and he was still getting used to it.

His fist landed, not too hard but solid against her shoulder. Zavien pulled back quickly as her punch came flying towards his chest. At the last second, he twisted out of the way, a brush of air skimming past his damp shirt. "Whoo. I barely avoided that one." He laughed, lunging forward to return another strike on Maea's opposite arm. 

Sol was more than happy to entertain the will-o-wisp, chirping excitedly when he saw the orb of light. He jumped from the pool of water he'd been splashing in. His wings slapped the water before he was airborne again, sweeping to lead Shii in a game of tag. 

3/4

Zavien

Maea

Waking from the dream
Witnessing the smoke that's rolling in

She grinned back, but didn't reply this time. Zavien's second punch connected solidly with her shoulder and this time Maea let the force of it push her backwards to increase the distance between them. While it was tempting to throw a kick at this point, the cuff offered just the kind of advantage she needed against a taller opponent.

Closing her hand into a fist, she aimed a punch for the dragoon's gut again - because why give up on such a nice big target? - and tried not to feel too silly as she threw a punch at him. Without the item she would only hit air, but with it equipped? She might actually like it better than her own chakram.

3/4

The end is what you fear
The scent of embers lingers in the air

Where there's life there's hope.

Zavien watched Maea stumble backwards, concerned he may have used too much force despite the lack of complaints. He stepped forward as if he might check on her, but she was suddenly throwing another punch at him, straight at his gut. His first instinct was to stay put, knowing her shorter arms wouldn't be able to reach him; but Zavien had the second thought that included the fact that she didn't need to touch him for the punch to land. 

At the last second, he swerved away, using his arm to take the portion of the attack he didn't have time to avoid. It grazed his arm with enough force that it might leave a bruise, but all he could do was smile. "I guess I'm going to have to relearn some of my habits and instincts." Chuckling, he didn't hesitate to close the distance between them and throw his fist towards her shoulder as a distraction for him to sweep a foot at her legs. 

4/4

Zavien

Maea

Waking from the dream
Witnessing the smoke that's rolling in

A fraction of a second faster and she would have landed that punch. It was a good reminder for her to keep working on her speed, and likewise a reminder that just because someone was bigger than her they weren't necessarily slower.

Saving further reflections for after they were done, she had to focus on defending herself as Zavien retaliated. His distraction worked like a charm this time; she avoided his punch to her shoulder with a graceful dodge that sent it cleanly past her. A second later his leg hooked behind her heel and yanked the leg away from under her, and down she went in a sad sprawl. Tucking her chin to the chest when she fell, Maea saved herself from cracking the head against rock, and the only thing that would bruise was her ego.

"No need, when you're the one holding the cuff," she groaned, and sat up. "Remind me not to spar dragoons without my armor next time - you're too good to go easy on."

4/4

The end is what you fear
The scent of embers lingers in the air