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Post by ivory on May 5, 2009 14:47:40 GMT -5
Adrian led his horse onto the cargo ship heading to Galica with surprising ease and gave him an extra handful of food before locking the door behind him. He hesitated a second then turned back around, his eyes searching those of his steed’s. He found only mischief there and la ook that seemed to say with quite pleasure, what a coward he was being.
Adrian scowled and mumbled, “I’ve never been on a ship before. It’s a natural reaction.”
Still glaring, he headed for the wolfship that was to carry him across along with the other unit that was to depart early. His mouth went dry as he made his way up the plank, his hands clammy as he stepped aboard and felt the rocking motion beneath his feet. He waited a few minutes until he felt more at ease with the rocking, and then forced himself to stand at the rail and watch the waves lap against his transportation. For some reason, he doubted he’d enjoy the sail.
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Dougal
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Post by Dougal on May 8, 2009 6:09:02 GMT -5
Dougal sighed in relief as the ship pulled away from the dock. Getting everyone down to the docks with all their kit had been much easier than he had thought, thanks mostly to Lieutenant Greer the SWC 2IC. The men had been given their marching orders before Dougal had even woken, which showed how much faith both men had in each other. In a way, the strange kind of working relationship was beneficial to both. Greer might be an excellent soldier, but he didn't mind paperwork and what was basically control of the SWC in all but name. Dougal, on the other hand, preferred to get his hands dirty and fight with his men. Still, from time to time the two would swap roles, or even perform a mission together if it wasn't too risky, and so they were firm friends.
Looking across at the small fleet, Dougal smiled as he remembered the message, not the one that warned of enemy activity but another one, that had reached the docks just before they had sailed. So, the Scotti were going to be helping the SWC fight the Aslavians? That was ironic because the SWC had done so much against the Scotti. They'd stirred up feuds and killed villagers in order to make it look as though a rival clan was attacking. He'd have to make sure that none of his men were stupid enough to mention what they had done. All it would take was one tiny little flame to set off the entire Scotti army against Araluen. Still, the Scotti would be highly valuable to Dougal. They could serve as a strike force for when the SWC had weakened the Aslavians enough. It would be perfect. After killing the supreme commander of the Aslavian army, possibly in addition to a few other high ranking officials, the SWC would make a big distraction on one side of the Aslavian army and then the Scotti could charge in one side, fight for five or ten minutes and then pull back. Oh the chaos! Oh the carnage!
On the other hand, it sounded as though La Rivage was in enemy hands. It sounded exactly like the kind of situation where the SWC would be handy, but orders were orders. Once the Aslavian army was in disarray Dougal would be able to help clear the town of enemy soldiers. With a bit of luck, the 'Grizzlies' might even abandon the town and go after the SWC. What a shock they would be in for. From what Greer had told him, Dougal knew that the Grizzlies were mostly mercenaries, which suggested a certain lack of cohesion and training. They'd be a tough nut to crack, alright, but Dougal had faith in his harsh training program and the fighting spirits of his men.
Turning his thoughts away from war, Dougal noticed that Katrina and Henry were starting to prepare for a sparring match. Seeing as he'd missed out on seeing the fight between Katrina and Jace, he decided to head over and see how well Katrina could fight in an enclosed space, where agility didn't count as much and strength came into play. Who knew, maybe he would even get a chance at fighting one of the two himself?
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Post by Brandwyn on May 8, 2009 22:20:46 GMT -5
Katrina donned her helmet and then pulled on her gauntlets and drew her sword. Henry copied her and they took their stances in the rather small area of the deck near the back of the wolfship where there was just enough clear space for a bit of sparring.
Henry nodded to her through his own helm and raised his sword, circling around Katrina slowly, waiting for her to throw the first blow.
Katrina kept her sword down by her side and circled Henry, stepping lightly on the balls of her feet, keeping her body aligned and in balance. She watched Henry's eyes and noticed he stared into her own rather than watching her hand. She had been working for a long time with him to get him to do that and she pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. Henry tensed, and Katrina knew he could tell she was about to strike. She flicked her wrist and her sword tip came up and Henry blocked it perfectly. She followed the upstroke with a sweep to her right and stepped in close to try to hit him with a wrap shot to the back of his head. He blocked it with ease, long familiar with that move. But they were just warming up.
Katrina moved into a standard warm-up routine that she had practiced with Henry on many occasions, but he was not to be lulled into that trick. He countered with an attack of his own. He stepped in close and proceeded to throw several swift bone-crushing blows to her shield arm and head. Katrina blocked them, but he drove her back up against the railing where she wasn't able to move quickly away from him, as was her usual tactic.
To counter the force of his blows she stepped in nose-to-nose with Henry and blocked his blows in close before he had a chance to deliver them at full force and she countered with a series of super fast wrap shots aimed at his head, then leg then back, back and forth in random order until one of them landed with a loud ring on his helmet and he staggered from it. Katrina called, "Hold!" and Henry stopped and dropped his sword, still reeling a bit. "Henry are you ok?" Katrina asked sheathing her sword and taking her helmet off. Then she helped him get his helmet off. "I am sorry, I didn't mean to hit you that hard. I thought you were going to block it."
"I'm fine, Sir. Just lost my concentration there for a moment." Henry assured her. He shook his head to try to clear it, but that seemed to make things worse.
Katrina led him over to a crate and sat him down on it. "Why don't you sit down for a bit until your head clears?" She told him and then noticed that the Skandians on the deck had been watching their little fight and some were grinning at her like she was a mouse and they were the cat. She looked back to Henry and examined his eyes for a moment. They seemed normal enough. "I got carried away there too. Guess I should show you that move I did against Sir Jace tomorrow. I don't think you should rattle your brain any more today."
She picked up his helmet and examined it. She had actually put a dent in the back of it. She frowned at the dent and berated herself silently for not paying better attention. She knew better than to let herself go with Henry. He wasn't anywhere near her fighting level and she was furious with herself for not keeping control, but she tried not to let him know it. She knelt down and set the helmet on the crate next to Henry and smiled at him, but the smile didn't reach her eyes, they were filled with worry.
"I am ok, Katrina, really I am." Henry said softly and reached up and pushed a strand of her hair back behind her ear. "My ears were just ringing a bit there, but it is going away now." He knew she was angry with herself. He could see it in the tenseness of her body and the look in her eyes. "It was just a little bump, nothing to worry about. I have taken much worse, and you know that."
Katrina looked down, "I know, but it wasn't me who gave those other injuries to you." She looked back up into his eyes. "I could have killed you, you know."
"But you didn't and you didn't even come close." Henry said firmly. "I am well aware of the risk of sparring with you, and I choose to do it anyway. How else am I ever going to learn to fight as well as you do?" He grinned at her. "My life's goal is to kick your butt, and I am not going to ever learn to do that if you keep holding back when we spar."
Katrina shook her head and smiled at him ruefully. "Now I know I hit that noggin of yours too hard. You don't know what you are saying." Katrina stood up. "Well, maybe there is someone around here I can spar with so you can watch and learn." She scanned the Skandians and other passengers that were on deck and her eyes fell on a large, muscular man with jet black hair and she smiled broadly, her anger at herself pushed to the back of her mind. "Captain Dougal." She nodded her head towards him.
She had thought he had gotten on a different ship when she hadn't seen him when she boarded. She was happy to see him on this ship. Suddenly the eight days of the voyage were looking up. "So, Captain, how 'bout it? I am sure there is a trick or two you could teach me." Katrina grinned at him. She doubted she would have to hold back with him. He might even be more fun than sparring with Jace had been.
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Post by ivory on May 9, 2009 8:37:52 GMT -5
The clash of swords echoed dimly in the back of Adrian's mind as he leaned over the side. His stomach churned as much as the waters beneath him and he opened his mouth to vomit. He moaned as his breakfast left him and felt his knees turn watery beneath him. Bad choice of words, he thought as his stomach rushed once again out his mouth. His fingers gripped tight to the side of the ship, holding himself upright though far from steady. He didn't dare sit down though, doubting that it would do anything for his stomach or that he'd have to clean it up afterward, an order he wouldn't be able to carry out in his present state.
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Post by Brandwyn on May 9, 2009 9:14:02 GMT -5
Katrina saw a soldier with white hair and a crooked arm leaning over the railing heaving his guts up. She had been warned about the seasickness, but so far was not feeling anything from it, but she hated to see anyone suffer. "Excuse me a moment, Dougal." She said and went to her pack and pulled out a small pouch and then a tiny bundle of waxed linen cheesecloth. She unrolled the packet as she walked over to the sick man.
"Here." Katrina held out a chunk of candied ginger root. "The herbalist told me this helps settle one's stomach. You suck on it and swallow the juice from it. Once you think you can keep something down, come see me and I have another herb that is supposed to stop the motion sickness, but it won't do you any good if can't keep it in your stomach."
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Post by ivory on May 9, 2009 9:39:57 GMT -5
He thought to ignore her, but not because he was feeling rude, just the opposite in fact. He didn't think he could talk at the moment. He listened though, but was too sick to harness a supply of hope. His stomach certainly didn't.
But he lifted his head all the same, and offered her a weak smile. Might as well take it so she doesn't think I'm being rude. His stomach churned again at the sight of the plant, but he managed to keep it in place while he took it from her fingers. "Thank you," he rasped, his throat dry and sore from heaving. A mistake he soon learned, as he gagged over what would've been her shoes. Luckily, he'd already thrown up everything in his stomach and only air came out. Once he thought he was able to move, he placed the root in his mouth.
His stomach immediately protested at the texture of something on his tongue, but he fought it down and after a few minutes he did feel slightly better, though only marginally so. He figured if he kept this up for a while, he'd at least be able to stop his addiction to the side of the ship.
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Post by Brandwyn on May 9, 2009 11:54:05 GMT -5
Katrina patted him gently on the back and then turned back to her pack to put the ginger away, hoping she had helped a little at least. She turned to Dougal, "Now, where were we?" She smiled warmly at him. "Feel up to a round or two, Captain?" she grinned invitingly, sweeping her hand towards the open sparring area.
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Dougal
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Post by Dougal on May 9, 2009 17:25:11 GMT -5
So Katrina wanted to spar with him? Dougal grinned. He'd seen how she had recovered from Henry's pressing her, but he would have the advantage her because of his shorter sword. If Katrina tried to get up close, well, she was going to get hit with some part of the sword, even if it was the end of the brass grip. Looking over at Henry's helmet, Dougal remembered the danger of fighting with sharp swords. Normally it wouldn't be much of a problem, but his falcata was designed to inflict maximum damage for a minimum of effort. If he even got a 'light' hit on Katrina it might be enough to put her out of action for a few weeks, and he doubted that she would appreciate that. Neither, as Dougal noticed a sideways glance from Henry, would her man-at-arms.
When Katrina went off to help out a seasick soldier, Dougal went and grabbed the rags he kept for the occasional sparring bout. He quickly tied them in place, mostly over the widest part of the blade, which was the area that would cause the most damage, and walked back. Katrina had just finished up and Dougal shifted his stance slightly. He'd wondered about how well Katrina would go on the confines of the ship. As it had turned out, she did very well. Now he wanted to see how well she reacted to an unannounced attack.
"Feel up to a round or two, Captain?"
There was no warning. Dougal launched himself across the deck at Katrina with a massive roar, swinging his blade at the area between her ribs and her hips. The swing was nothing gentle either. It would seriously hurt if it hit, although no damage would be done thanks to the cloth. Of course, if Katrina only partially deflected the blade, the point and about five centimetres of blade might still cut her, but Dougal was confident that he could pull out of the attack in that case.
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Post by Brandwyn on May 9, 2009 18:16:39 GMT -5
Katrina was expecting him to attack without warning, but not quite that quickly. She drew her sword as she spun away from him, barely blocking his blow. The rags on his blade muffled the ringing sound of impact, but did nothing to lesson the force of the blow. She wasn't expecting the amount of strength behind the sword and nearly staggered under it. But she was determined to impress Dougal, so she pushed back against his blade as hard as she could from that rather weak block. It was hard to get any force behind the blade because she had gone straight from unsheathing her sword into the block.
Katrina didn't have room to retreat backwards as she would have liked to do when faced with a fighter that liked to use brute force. She was going to have to get creative if she was going to last even five minutes with Dougal. She sidled sideways to his left, away from his sword arm and tried to land a slash across his stomach on the left side as she tried to slide past him to gain more room to maneuver. With her left hand she drew her long dagger from her belt and flipped the blade back along her forearm so she could use it to block, since she hadn't had time to pick up her shield or put her helmet or gauntlets back on. Of course Dougal didn't appear to be wearing a great deal of armor, or at least not as good armor as she was, so she was a bit worried about inflicting permanent damage against him. She pulled her blow slightly, just in case he didn't block it, and watched his eyes to see what his next move was going to be.
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Post by ivory on May 9, 2009 20:21:41 GMT -5
With his stomach in its rightful position and seemingly not wanting to heave its way out through his mouth, Adrian risked the chance to lift his head. His stomach protested though not loudly, so he felt okay with leaving it there. He’d heard the woman’s words and silently blessed her for granting him something that would take his mind off the churning waters below. Surprise jolted his innards as he saw that she was the same knight who’d sparred with Jace only a few hours ago, but only because he hadn’t recognized her sooner. He’d always prided himself in remembering faces within seconds of seeing them and it only showed how weak he was on a ship.
Silently vowing that he’d work on his seasickness until he could at least fight onboard, he watched the battle start before him. Who knew? Maybe, he’d be able to learn how to do so – how to manage to keep his previous meal within his stomach when out at sea – but he highly doubted it. A lesson for later maybe, but definitely not now.
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Dougal
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Post by Dougal on May 10, 2009 1:20:33 GMT -5
Katrina managed to block his attack in time, although Dougal saw her waver under the ferocity of the attack. He smiled viciously and allowed her to push his sword back a little way, not enough to inconvenience him in any way, but just enough to make things more interesting. Katrina replied by trying to slice he left hand side of his stomach open. Dropping his sword down, Dougal blocked the blow, although he could tell that it had been pulled. His smile became more amused, although it kept a certain feral element, and he let out a slight laugh. Katrina was actually worried about hurting him? Did she really think that he would wear armour that was below par? True, her sword would probably slice through the padded jack and into the flesh below, but it would only be a minor wound for someone like Dougal.
Seeing as Katrina's left had was no longer free, Dougal stepped forward and delivered a powerful overhead blow. When Katrina blocked it, he was not planning on removing his sword. He would keep it there, locking Katrina's arm in place. With any luck he would be able to use his left hand to grab her sword arm before she realised what danger she was in. If that worked, then Dougal would continue moving forward, place his right leg behind Katrina's right leg and us his momentum to knock her over. Hopefully the shock of hitting the wooden deck would combine with Dougal's own weight to loosen Katrina's grip on her weapon, allowing Dougal to either place his sword at her throat, if she had lost her grip on her sword, or give her a whack up the side of the head, if she had maintained a grip on her sword. He wouldn't have done this in a battlefield situation, but Dougal had a policy of using every scenario to his advantage. He knew that Katrina didn't want to hurt him, so he had to put her in a position where the only way of escaping was to badly injure him.
However, if Katrina managed to see through his plan and get out of the the sword lock, Dougal had another plan. He would keep on raining down blows on Katrina - a slash at her left arm, a chop aimed at her left leg, a cut angled at her right side and then a thrust at her heart - until she was backed up in a corner and he could make use of his strength and endurance.
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Post by Brandwyn on May 10, 2009 7:31:09 GMT -5
Katrina saw the amusement and then surprise in Dougal's eyes as she pulled her blow and he blocked it. Fine. He was expecting her to go all out. She decided to oblige him, hoping that she could pull any blow in time if it got through his defenses.
She also saw the near berserker look in his eye and knew that she could be in real trouble if he lost control in the confines of the ship. Yet another reason to stop holding back. The game was on.
Katrina saw him lift his arm for a powerful overhand blow and saw her chance to get past him, since he had cut off her escape to his left. Instead of blocking the blow with her off hand, lightening fast she stepped her right leg across in front of her left leg and blocked the blow with her sword, right where the blade meets the cross-guard of the hilt. She ducked down under his upraised right arm, pushing against his downward thrust with all of her strength as she slid her blade along his and spun on her right toes, scraping her dagger along his right ribs as she spun out behind him after having spun the blade in her hand. The dagger didn't penetrate his armor, but she hoped it might leave a bruise because she punched it into his side as she swung past. She spun it back along her forearm as soon as it cleared his armor. Since she wasn't wearing a helmet, she decided to add another bit of distraction and so she flicked her head, causing her long braided hair to whip across his face as she spun past him.
Instead of completing the spin as she had done with Jace, she stopped moving on around him, getting her feet completely under her again. As the tip of her sword slid out from under his sword and arm, she twisted her wrist around and tried to rain down a blow to the side of his head, using the force of her spin and her hips to deliver it. If he didn't block it, she could end up killing him. This was a deadly game they were playing. She found herself really enjoying it and was surprised at herself.
Now she was standing in the open area and he was only half turned towards her. Katrina's plan was to press the attack and drive him back against the railing. She knew that she could move faster than he could, so as long as she stayed out in the open she should be ok. However, if it came down to an endurance fight as it had started out to be with Jace, she wasn't so sure of the outcome. With her style of fighting she would likely tire quicker. Her best bet was to use one of her signature moves and disarm him, the sooner the better. She doubted he knew enough about her fighting to expect any of them, but she didn't plan to underestimate him. He was a sneaky, wily old fighter and more than likely had a lot more tricks up his sleeve than she did. As her sword swung in its deadly arc towards Dougal's head, she couldn't help but grin. This really was fun!
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Dougal
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Post by Dougal on May 11, 2009 1:27:55 GMT -5
As Katrina's sword slide along his, Dougal realised that the cloth tied to his blade had been cut. If he had been more in control of himself he would have called a stop and suggested that they both wrap their swords, but he was too far gone and, besides, he had a reputation as the toughest trainer in all Araluen. He wasn't about to give up that reputation, especially in front of a Skandian crew. He'd never hear the end of it, especially as he'd been beaten by their Jarl a couple of years back or, more to the point, his wife. But that didn't matter. What did matter was the knife that had just slashed through a couple of layers of Dougal's padded jack. The jack had absorbed most of the energy and Dougal didn't bruise easily, so he didn't really feel the blow. However, it meant that Katrina was not holding back. As she whipped her hair into Dougal's face, he blocked it with his left arm and tried to get a grip on it. His fingers had just grabbed the end of Katrina's hair when he saw her sword coming back towards him. Without thinking, Dougal released his grip, ducked to one side and brought his falcata up to block it. He succeeded but Katrina would be able to tell that he hadn't been expecting her attack.
Katrina was now side on to Dougal and had a slight advantage. She attacked again and Dougal countered, allowing himself to be pushed backwards. He gave ground gradually, making it look as though he was outclassed by Katrina. He blocked every blow with maximum strength but he slowed his speed down somewhat, to a level that would be expected from someone his age. He even managed to push Katrina back for a moment or two. Then, two steps from the railing, Dougal rushed Katrina, screaming at the top of his lungs and getting his face right up into hers in order to cause momentary confusion. His sword slammed into hers at the hilt with enough force, he hoped, to push it backwards at an awkward angle. At the same time, Dougal's left hand came forward with the aim of closing around Katrina's fist. He hoped that he had timed this well enough and that his battle scream had confused Katrina just enough for him to be successful. If not, he'd have to be quick enough to avoid getting cut by the dagger.
Dougal's plan was similar to what it had been before. He was going to get right up close to Katrina so that only strength counted. He would attempt to sweep her legs out from under her and knock the wind out of her when they landed on the deck. From there it should be easy enough to put a sword to her throat or give her a knock. Even so, it was risky. Still, Dougal knew that he couldn't match Katrina's finesse and speed, so he had to rely on his doing the unexpected and his own strength.
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Post by Brandwyn on May 11, 2009 9:41:22 GMT -5
Katrina saw the rags Dougal had wrapped around his sword fall away and thought he might call a stop, but he didn’t and she was glad because she was on the offensive at the moment and didn’t want to slow her momentum. However, the danger level just went up another notch and she knew she was going to have to careful.
The knife blow didn’t seem to faze him in the slightest, and Katrina thought she may have really messed up with the hair fling as she felt a slight tug on it as he grabbed it. But the tug disappeared as he realized she was attacking and he maneuvered quickly to block her slash to his head. It wasn’t the smoothest of blocks, but it was effective.
‘Ha!’ thought Katrina in a brief moment of triumph, ‘he wasn’t expecting that!’ She followed up the slice to his head that he had just managed to block with a slash to his side, using the force of his block to bounce her sword off his and add momentum to her follow-up down stroke to his side.
Her triumph was short-lived, however, as she pushed Dougal back towards the railing. She could tell he was holding back, baiting her. He was getting ready for a strike of his own, but Katrina couldn’t think what it would be. She knew she was being set-up, but was at a loss to prevent it. She wasn’t able to disarm him with her favorite tactic because he kept raining down overhand and underhand cuts at her and didn’t try to thrust straight in towards her heart. Katrina realized that was probably because of the unusual sword he was wielding. It didn’t have what you would call a thrusting tip on it. It was more of a hack and slash type weapon, suited to someone with great strength and perfectly suited to Dougal and his style of fighting.
So they continued exchanging blows and Katrina even let him push her back a couple steps, but then she pushed back and he gave way before her. It was a ploy and she knew it, but wasn’t sure what he was up to. She didn’t have time to figure it out. She saw Dougal’s eyes narrow slightly and suddenly he was yelling in her face and pushing her backwards by brute force.
His yelling didn’t disturb her and she yelled right back at him, but when his sword crashed into her sword at the hilt, she thought for a moment that he was going to break her arm. She had never before experienced such force behind a blow. ‘Damn! He is strong!’ she thought, just as she realized she was in real trouble. Suddenly the boat lurched under her feet and she slammed right up against Dougal with her sword arm being twisted back and to her right at an odd angle. She couldn’t get her sword untangled from his and she was now off-balance from the suddenly bucking deck.
The ship had already reached the mouth of the river and they were now spilling out into the sea. The water was choppy where the swift moving river water met up with the current of the sea that ran parallel to the coast and perpendicular to the river current. The boat bucked and spun, pitching and yawing front to back and side to side. Katrina had never been on a ship before and wasn’t use to the motion at all. As Dougal brought his leg around behind hers, she knew she was going down.
She saw him grab for her left hand with the dagger in it, but managed to jerk her hand away and twist slightly so she landed on her left hip and shoulder instead of her back. She tried to roll out from under him, but he had her sword arm under his control and she couldn’t complete the roll. He came crashing down partially on top of her and she somehow managed to keep her breath.
She pushed against him with her arms and legs, but couldn’t budge him and for a moment they lay on the pitching deck, both of them breathing heavily, staring into each other’s eyes. Katrina broke into a mischievous grin and suddenly raised her head up and kissed him savagely, driving her tongue deep into his mouth, violating his privacy. She had hoped to distract him with the kiss so he would loosen his hold on her, but she was not prepared for her own reaction when her lips met his. Her eyes widened in surprise for a split second as heat flushed through her body then they looked into his challengingly. She growled deep in her throat, forgetting they were the center of attention on a deck covered with Skandian and Araluen soldiers. She stopped pushing against him and instead tried to pull him closer, dropping her dagger as she reached up and grabbed the back of his neck and her tongue probed his mouth, all the while staring into his eyes.
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Post by ivory on May 11, 2009 15:36:42 GMT -5
Adrian had watched the battle in total fascination, eyes flying to follow the swift movements of both their body and the extension of their 'arm'. He didn't gag once as he watched them exchange blows, noticing the near berserker look in Dougal's eyes. He'd frowned at that, wondering if it was a wise choice to lose oneself in such closed quarters, but had dismissed it for his lack of experience. He figured Dougal wouldn't be so high in rank if he hadn't known what he was doing. So he watched and learned, his mind working to burn the images into his mind as he dissected each move.
And then his world rocked apart. Or at least, it seemed to with the sudden thrashing of the ship. He didn't doubt his face turned green as he collapsed to his knees and vomitted up the juice of the ginger root. He moaned as he struggled to his feet, not thinking straight enough to think that it might be a bad idea.
As the ship lurched sideways again, his weak legs gave out beneath him, tossing him against the side of the ship. He fought to regain his balance when the next wave hit, succeeding in throwing him over. His mind went blank for a moment as his feet lifted off the ground and followed him toward the frothing sea. But as the rail snapped before his eyes, the moment was gone, and he lashed out with his right hand, grabbing desperately for the rail. He gritted his teeth as force was executed into his shoulder as it held all of his weight against gravity. His stomach knotted and then revolted at the maximized rocking of the ship.
Adrian wasn't above yelling for help when he figured he needed it and his current situation definitely qualified. Unfortunately, he was too busy gagging to scream for it. So instead, he cursed the sea in his mind and tightened his grip, praying that it smoothed out enough for him to throw his leg back over the side. And soon.
That thought was heavily enforced with the slipping of his fingers.
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