[PQ] [SE] Me against the World

MAEA

Wide awake in bed, words in my brain
"Secretly you love this, do you even wanna go free?"

There was nothing like a good spar to blow off steam and figure out what your flaws were in a fight. Considering how outnumbered she had felt lately, Maea figured it couldn't hurt to try and ameliorate that particular deficiency in herself. Reaching out to anyone she could think of that might be up for some joint training, she found herself overlooking the warm-ups one balmy Longheat morning, early enough that the real heat of the day had yet to kick in. 

"So, I was thinking we could take turns to stand in the middle and defend, and the rest will work together to attack. And since it'll be a mess, let's just use fists - the point is getting used to being attacked from multiple directions at once." 

Ensuring that she too was good and warmed up, Maea volunteered as the first person to defend. Grinning enthusiastically at the others, she withdrew to the center of the training area where there was open space, and readied herself for the upcoming melee. Her hands felt a bit strange without either chakram or the new glaive, unused to fighting bare-handed, but it did leave the mind open to focus on things like positioning, cooperation and situational awareness. For her, the focus was to remain on her feet and avoid 'lethal' damage. For the others, not getting in each other's way might prove a challenge in itself. 

"Are you ready? Let's go!"

---

Welcome to this PQ! We'll be taking turns to face multiple opponents at a time. No weapons, only fists, don't kill anyone and let's have some fun! 

Round 1 - Start the first wave right away, your target is Maea! 

1. Maea
2. Liam
3. open
4. open

Let me in the ring
I'll show you what that big word means

Base by Skylark, Art by Midjourney

'Cause they took your loved ones
But returned them in exchange for you

When Liam heard training - particularly coming from a certain pale Ancient - he was sure to arrive bright and early. He'd dressed simply in clothes that would be easy to move in and cool once the day started to heat up, and at Maea's instructions, he discarded the basic sword he'd brought along to join in the unarmed melee. After stretching and going through a few basic hand-to-hand drills that he'd learned during his time with the Dragoons, he indicated that he was ready and faced Maea, his hands held up by his face to protect against any retaliatory strikes.

When Maea indicated that it was time to start, Liam hesitated for only a moment before lunging forward, aiming a punch for Maea's ribcage. Hopefully the others would choose different targets, or this was going to get very messy, very fast.

---

Liam tries to punch Maea's ribcage!

But would you have it any other way?
You couldn't have it any other way

Liam

Kaisel

Don't need a sign, nothing divine's gonna save me

Never one to pass down an opportunity to train AND punch, Kaisel approaches the designated spot for this training, even though he doesn't know anyone gathered here. Only one way to fix that, right? "Sup? I'm Kaisel, Dragoon." He offers simply, a nod of his head upwards, and a broad smile. Really, what else do you need to get to know someone?

As the absurdly pale woman gave out instructions (and he thought he was pale compared to Flora, but she was whiter than his ass cheeks), Kaisel nodded, growing serious as the promise of improvement lingers. He exhales steadily, centering himself as he draws his fists up near his face in a protective block, his feet widening and shifting so the left is in the lead. Although Koa is the true one-punch man of the family, Kaisel has a similar affinity for melee, and though he's yet to defeat his cousin in a match of fists, he's picked up a fair bit from the spars and regiments.

Hot on the heels of Liam, Kaisel breaks to the left, placing his left foot like an anchor and rolling onto his right foot, ducking low and fast. As he surges up on the right hand now he unleashes a jab with his left and a cross with his right, all aiming for her moon-white face.

---

Kaisel does a left jab and right hook at her face!

Here only the strong survive

MAEA

Wide awake in bed, words in my brain
"Secretly you love this, do you even wanna go free?"

The unfamiliar face wouldn't remain a stranger for long, given the close connections they were about make. "Nice to meet you! I'm Maea." It was interesting how many dragoons were showing up lately. Casting a look at Liam to see if this was a good or bad thing in his eyes - tempting him to return to his old life, or simply dragging up painful memories - Maea waited for introductions to be over before refocusing on the exercise.

Unceremoniously, the dragoons got to work. Between one moment and the next she went from idle to having her hands full.
Twisting away from Liam's fist to her stomach unfortunately put her in the path of Kaisel's fist. Barely able to avoid the full brunt of his swing, his fist still glanced her chin with enough force to rattle her head. Nothing says hello like a punch in the face, huh.

Staggering slightly, the pale woman backed up to regain her stance, then called out "Switch," and pointed to Liam. With a sharp toothed grin Maea advanced on the gold-haired soldier and sent a small fist towards his gut - reaching his chin would be a bit of a stretch.

---

Liam missed
Kaisel hit

Round 2! Your target is Liam!

Let me in the ring
I'll show you what that big word means

Base by Skylark, Art by Midjourney

Kaisel

Don't need a sign, nothing divine's gonna save me

"Oh fuck," Kaisel breathes as he connects with her face, too late to pull the punch when he realizes that she isn't going to block or dodge it. He hadn't actually meant to hit there, he just wanted to force her into movement, and since the face is so precious people usually move when it's threatened. He'd been depending on that to make his true opening, because the first connection is always difficult, closing distance and testing speed more than making a strike.

Fists uncoil and Kaisel's wide eyes behold her. "Shit, sorry, you okay?" he asks, but she's shaking it off like it's just another day and instructs them to turn on Liam, her own body in motion while Kaisel's mouth is still ajar with the shape of WTF. Uh, well, ok, she can take a punch.

Inhaling to steady himself, Kaisel turns towards the other man, fists reformed, although he doesn't target the face again. This time Kaisel sweeps in on the opposing side of Maea and aims a hook to Liam's arm, his other hand guarding his own face in case the next switch comes quick and he's the target.

---

Kaisel punches Liam's arm!

Here only the strong survive

'Cause they took your loved ones
But returned them in exchange for you

Kaisel was a bit young for Liam to have known him prior to leaving the Dragoons, but it was always nice to see a fellow soldier, and he greeted the young man with a friendly smile. "Nice to meet you. I'm Liam." He met Maea's questioning gaze with warmth - no, there was nothing bad about Dragoons appearing and no, he wasn't tempted to return to his old life. He wasn't sure he could even if he wanted to. He wasn't the same person he'd once been.

But there was little time for pleasantries as the game started. Liam's punch missed Maea, but Kaisel's didn't, and the ex-soldier hid a wince as the punch connected with the Ancient's chin. Still, she bounced back quickly enough, and Liam grinned as their attention turned to him. Holding his hands up to protect his face, Liam attempted to dodge backwards away from Maea and to the side away from Kaisel, trying to evade both of his opponents at once.

---

Liam tries to dodge!

But would you have it any other way?
You couldn't have it any other way

Liam

MAEA

Wide awake in bed, words in my brain
"Secretly you love this, do you even wanna go free?"

She could indeed take a punch. As expected, Maea found that it was far more difficult to keep her attention on both opponents at the same time, which was how she failed to block the punch to her face. Admittedly, her head still rang from the blow and the surroundings were a little blurry at the edges - but she simply flashed a grin at Kaisel and waved off his apologies. "I'm good! I've had worse."

Able to keep up with Liam's attempt to dodge, her fist connected with his abs in a rather satisfying way. Dancing aside to make room for Kai, she saw him land his punch as well and wasted no time in turning towards him, next. "Your turn. Switch!" With one eye on Liam to accommodate his movements, she approached the young dragoon, feinted right, dodged left and repeated the attempt to drive her small fist into his gut, trying her best to avoid any vital organs.

---

Maea hit
Kaisel hit

Round 3! Your target is Kaisel

Let me in the ring
I'll show you what that big word means

Base by Skylark, Art by Midjourney

'Cause they took your loved ones
But returned them in exchange for you

I'm getting too old for this, Liam thought, at about the same time as Maea's fist connected with his abs. Fortunately, long years of training had kept his stomach tight - and, therefore, kept Maea from knocking the wind from his lungs. Kaisel's blow came next, landing solidly on his arm, but before he could congratulate either opponent on their aim, Maea was singing out for them to switch again.

This time, the target was Kaisel. Liam kept an eye out for Maea, giving her just enough of a head start that he could hopefully come in right after her feint. She went left; he went right, aiming a blow for Kaisel's ribs. With any luck, the time he'd spent around Maea would be beneficial in avoiding running into her - but Kaisel was an unknown. He'd already proven to be quick and solid, so Liam had high hopes for how the young dragoon would take this round.

---

Liam tries to go the opposite way of Maea and punch Kaisel in the ribs!

But would you have it any other way?
You couldn't have it any other way

Liam

Kaisel

Don't need a sign, nothing divine's gonna save me

Whatever satisfaction he finds for his other successful strike is quickly swept away with the words he'd been expecting. Unlike when they'd turned on Liam, Kaisel knows he's next. He braces, momentum coiling after his hits, and he bounces it back, sliding a step or two away from the bunch of them. His hands are both raised up near his head, a ready block, too accustomed to the yelled training to keep it off to even think of dropping it.

Still, they are capable and fast, and they work with a familiarity he can't deny as they rush towards him. They weave in feints and pour their fists around each other, attempting to trap him on either side of their barrage. Maea this way, Liam that, both driving something into his torso, a nice big target. Kaisel attempts to block Maea's strike with a downward arm, the movement and the muscles there better equipped to handle her strength than his side is. For Liam's, Kaisel tries to swing his body away from it, pivoting on the planted foot closest to Maea, furthest from Liam. He moves on memory more than plan, teeth grit with the effort of being fast enough to accomplish it.

---

Kai blocks Maea with an arm, and pivots away from Liam

Here only the strong survive

MAEA

Wide awake in bed, words in my brain
"Secretly you love this, do you even wanna go free?"

Oh, Kaisel was good and his training did not betray him; the arm lowered to block Maea's bony little fist did its job. Successfully deflecting her punch, it proved harder to evade Liam. The former dragoon had not been slacking off all these years and remained swift enough to keep up with the movements and though the pivot weakened the impact, his fist still connected with the young man's ribs.

Maea backed up again, shaking out her fists and reshaping them into the capable stance Kai had been holding. Not above stealing techniques that proved efficient, she was quite eager to have another go at this game. "Good job! One more time, then we get a break. Switch!" Slightly winded, it took some effort to stay on her toes and keep both guys accounted for while also blocking and punching. She was having fun, though; and finally it clicked why. It was the competition of it, and the movement of her body with purpose and skill. The bare fists were painful when landing, sure, but there was no blood and no risk of death and certainly no mental anguish.

Something to reflect on properly at a later time. For now, Maea returned her focus to the training, ready to meet whhatever the soldiers threw at her.

---

Maea missed
Liam hit!

Last round! Your target is Maea

Let me in the ring
I'll show you what that big word means

Base by Skylark, Art by Midjourney

Kaisel

Don't need a sign, nothing divine's gonna save me

Happy to see the effort of so much training pay off, Kaisel grins behind his block. Much like all his trainings tend go though, one success does not a victory make, and so Liam's successful hit reminds him with a forced out grunt. He might be getting better, but he's still got a ways to go to be able to stand his own against any opponent. That's alright, he doesn't mind working hard.

"Not bad yourself!" he calls back to her praise, sweeping a leg around as he pauses for a beat to regain his breath. Big inhale in, slow exhale out. She calls them back onto her, and Kaisel judges the distance and her defenses. He spares a glance towards Liam, making sure they don't get in each other's way before Kaisel runs forward. He plants his left foot, right one taking one more step before he puts the power of that momentum into the left hook her angles for her shoulder, his other hand held up to guard his face, just in case she decides to go on the counter assault.

Here only the strong survive

'Cause they took your loved ones
But returned them in exchange for you

Liam landed a hit on Kaisel, and he spared the younger man a quick grin to make sure that the hit had been taken well (and it had) before turning his attention back to Maea. This was a strangely disconcerting exercise - Liam wasn’t used to switching targets so quickly, these days, when most of his training was done alone or against a singular opponent. Still, all the more reason to take advantage of the opportunity.

When the target switched back to Maea again, Liam once more lingered for a heartbeat to allow Kaisel to make the first move. With an eye on the young man to ensure they didn’t get in one another’s way, Liam swooped in on the opposite side, mimicking Kaisel’s motions to attempt to land a punch on Maea’s other arm.

—-

Liam tries to punch Maea’s other arm!

But would you have it any other way?
You couldn't have it any other way

Liam

MAEA

Wide awake in bed, words in my brain
"Secretly you love this, do you even wanna go free?"

This timme she felt better prepared to respond to the influx of motion coming her way. She saw Kaisels fist come for her shoulder and twisted her torso out of the way so that he missed, then raised her arms to guard against Liam's punch. It did connect with her arms, but not as hard as he perhaps had intended, and whenbshe danced back to create space for a counter, Maea felt ready to switch back to offense without a break. Progress!

"Nice one!" she complimented Liam, before sharing a pleased smile with both of the men. "Let's take a break - you’ve earned it."
Letting her stance drop, she peeled away to drink some water and catch her breath. Sweat beaded on her skin from the exertion, yet it seemed it was her mind that felt the fatigue over her body. No wondder, really, given the newness of the exercise.

Content to keep going for a while longer if the others wished to, by the time it grew too warm for the soldiers the sun had risen a fair bit in the sky and Maea's stomach growled at the thought of food. Waving goodbye to her friends - yep, you too, Kaisel - she set off for home, humming a wordless tune as she went.

---

Kaisel missed
Liam hit!

Completed! Thank you for participating <3

[FIN]

Let me in the ring
I'll show you what that big word means

Base by Skylark, Art by Midjourney