"Tentacles?" Jigano repeated, startled. That was not what he had been expecting to hear. He wasn't sure what he had expected, to be fair... but tentacles definitely weren't it! "Gods least fortunate... injured as we were, we're lucky they didn't make it into the cavern with us." His expression was grim, a flicker of distaste briefly passing over it. Tentacles. Gods dammit. As if the landslide wasn't cause for enough nightmares!
He tilted his head wryly at Deimos's admonition. "What is yours remains yours," he said formally. "I won't repeat that bit to anyone, especially not Amalia." Not that he had fared any better, as evidenced by his sling! And without even the excuse of fighting his way past some horrific beast to rescue his beloved to show for it, either. More was the pity... he didn't plan to be writing any ballads about that little misadventure any time soon!
His own experience, and Ronin's, in adapting to Caido seemed to strike a chord with Deimos, and Jigano nodded wryly at the vow to build themselves back up again. Without his magic, he could only build so much... but that was no reason not to try. And since he was trying... "Tempting as it is... no, I'd better practice with it like this," he decided with a sigh of regret, though he nodded his thanks at the offer. "I know what I'm doing with my rapier, but if it gets dropped or broken and I need to grab some other blade in a hurry and make do, it will be better if I have a bit of practice with wielding unfamiliar swords in a pinch." And if his beloved sword were lost or broken, he might not be able to get a replacement of similar quality as his outlander blade, even with the enchantments and starmetal wiped away by his passage to Caido.
"New teams, and new allies," he agreed, watching Deimos move with an appreciative eye. He would make a good dancer, in spite of his habit of turning his dances into melees and bumping into poor, hapless bards, Jigano decided with a grin. The grace and balance were there, all he needed was a new pattern, and perhaps a rhythm that wasn't the beat of battle. True, the white-haired man was more dancer than warrior himself, and his reflexes were excellent - but the arm in its sling threw his balance off just enough to slow his reactions in critical moments. He mirrored Deimos's step less than a breath behind, and started to turn his body to block the incoming attack with a deft parry--
He wasn't sure what happened first. His injured arm twinged as he tried to draw it away, sending a distracting shock through his body and his natural instinct to parry lightly, as he would have with his rapier, was wholly insufficient for both wielding his own blade, and for warding off Deimos's blade. Instead of an inside parry along his twisting body that would have allowed for a counterthrust, the bard instead found himself flinching back as his opponent's wooden blade struck his collarbone and traced a line down his chest that would have been debilitating had there been an edge to the blade.
"Well... that's embarrassing," he muttered to himself, grimacing at the flickering twinges from his left arm as he straightened and then took position again. "Can you slow that down and do it again? I need to figure out how to use this broader blade to block properly," he requested, courteous even in his own frustration with himself.
He tilted his head wryly at Deimos's admonition. "What is yours remains yours," he said formally. "I won't repeat that bit to anyone, especially not Amalia." Not that he had fared any better, as evidenced by his sling! And without even the excuse of fighting his way past some horrific beast to rescue his beloved to show for it, either. More was the pity... he didn't plan to be writing any ballads about that little misadventure any time soon!
His own experience, and Ronin's, in adapting to Caido seemed to strike a chord with Deimos, and Jigano nodded wryly at the vow to build themselves back up again. Without his magic, he could only build so much... but that was no reason not to try. And since he was trying... "Tempting as it is... no, I'd better practice with it like this," he decided with a sigh of regret, though he nodded his thanks at the offer. "I know what I'm doing with my rapier, but if it gets dropped or broken and I need to grab some other blade in a hurry and make do, it will be better if I have a bit of practice with wielding unfamiliar swords in a pinch." And if his beloved sword were lost or broken, he might not be able to get a replacement of similar quality as his outlander blade, even with the enchantments and starmetal wiped away by his passage to Caido.
"New teams, and new allies," he agreed, watching Deimos move with an appreciative eye. He would make a good dancer, in spite of his habit of turning his dances into melees and bumping into poor, hapless bards, Jigano decided with a grin. The grace and balance were there, all he needed was a new pattern, and perhaps a rhythm that wasn't the beat of battle. True, the white-haired man was more dancer than warrior himself, and his reflexes were excellent - but the arm in its sling threw his balance off just enough to slow his reactions in critical moments. He mirrored Deimos's step less than a breath behind, and started to turn his body to block the incoming attack with a deft parry--
He wasn't sure what happened first. His injured arm twinged as he tried to draw it away, sending a distracting shock through his body and his natural instinct to parry lightly, as he would have with his rapier, was wholly insufficient for both wielding his own blade, and for warding off Deimos's blade. Instead of an inside parry along his twisting body that would have allowed for a counterthrust, the bard instead found himself flinching back as his opponent's wooden blade struck his collarbone and traced a line down his chest that would have been debilitating had there been an edge to the blade.
"Well... that's embarrassing," he muttered to himself, grimacing at the flickering twinges from his left arm as he straightened and then took position again. "Can you slow that down and do it again? I need to figure out how to use this broader blade to block properly," he requested, courteous even in his own frustration with himself.
