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Post by ivory on May 17, 2009 12:19:21 GMT -5
Adrian woke to the smell of roasted pork. There was something else in the air, but he didn't care about the blasted fruit or coffee. Meat, he wanted meat. He rose into a sitting position, eyes still tired in sleep though his nose was fully awake and alert. He stretched out the kinks in his back at having slept on the wooden deck before rising and looking around. His stomach tightened as he realized that he was still on the blasted ship, but hunger won out in the end.
Smiling, when he saw the source of it, he headed over to the woman knight who'd helped him earlier. She was standing by someone else that he didn't know by name, but figured that if she'd been kind enough to help him earlier, she'd surely give him some food. He didn't feel up to walking all the way to the gullery and back, especially going down steps as the boat swayed and swayed and swayed.
Feeling sick, he forced himself to concentrate on the smell of roasted pork. His mouth watered.
"Hi," he greeted with a slight smile though his eyes were only for the meat. He thought it'd be rude to straight out ask for the meat they'd probably just retreived, so he said instead, "Thanks for helping me out earlier. I really appreciate it." He held his hand out, then realized their hands were full. His mind hadn't been awake enough to realize that to carry the meat they needed to use their hands. He dropped it back to his side. "I don't even know your name. I'm Adrian by the way." He smiled again, though his eyes stayed glued to the food.
Man, was he starving! Vomiting multiple times had an odd way of emptying a man's stomach, he realized all too quickly once he'd awoken.
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Post by Brandwyn on May 17, 2009 21:06:42 GMT -5
Katrina recognized the man who had been so sick yesterday and smiled at him as he approached. He was looking a bit less green around the gills now, she noted. Maybe the ginger had helped some after all. He introduced himself and held out his hand for a shake and Katrina moved to shake it and realized she was holding her mug of coffee in that hand. She saluted him with it instead. "Katrina de Montgomery." She introduced herself, after swallowing a piece of meat. "How is the stomach this morning? Hopefully better now that we are on calm seas."
Katrina noticed Adrian was eyeing her breakfast and she fought down an amused smile. "Katrina!" she heard her name called by a familiar voice and turned around. There was Shamus with a big platter of roasted pork and a tray of small bowls filled with something Katrina couldn't make out. Shamus hurried up, juggling the food, "Oh, I see you already found breakfast." His smile dimmed a little.
"That's ok, I think our friend Adrian here could use some of that and quite frankly, I am famished. Here, set that stuff down here." Katrina led them to a stack of crates and sat her mug down on it. Shamus set the bowl of meat down and then waved the tray under Katrina's nose. "The cook said you were to have first choice of this." Shamus picked up one of the small bowls on the tray and handed it to her. It was warm and Katrina sniffed it and looked at Shamus in wonder. "He said it was bad luck to have a woman on a ship and it was certain doom to have an angry woman on the ship." He grinned at her. "I guess he heard about yesterday and wanted to make something to cheer you up."
Katrina frowned at the reminder of yesterday's drama, but she was in a fairly decent mood right now and if this was the bread pudding that she thought it was, then things were definitely looking up. She held the bowl up to her nose and closed her eyes and savored the smell of the custard with pieces of cinnamon bread and raisins nestled in it. She opened her eyes and held out her plate full of strips of uneaten pork to Adrian. "Would you like these? I think I want to eat this pudding before it gets cold."
Shamus chuckled as Katrina dug into the bread pudding with a spoon, savoring each bite. He passed a bowl to Henry and one to Adrian. Suddenly Katrina realized she hadn't introduced everyone, "Adrian, this is Henry and Shamus. Shamus is the Scotti ambassador and Henry is my man at arms. He was the one who pulled you back out of the drink yesterday when you sorta fell overboard." Katrina had just heard the story from Henry as they were getting their breakfast.
"Well, with some help of those huge Skandians over there." Henry grinned sheepishly. He held out his hand to shake Adrian's. "Glad you are feeling better today." Shamus nodded to Adrian as he scarfed down a piece of meat.
Katrina sat down on another crate and took a sip of her coffee and then went back to savoring her bread pudding. She loved custard puddings of any type, but bread pudding was her favorite. She wondered how the cook knew and eyed Henry suspiciously. He seemed totally oblivious to her good-natured accusing look.
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Post by ivory on May 18, 2009 15:31:25 GMT -5
"How is the stomach this morning? Hopefully better now that we are on calm seas."
Her question eluded him for a few seconds before he was able to make the words into a coherent sentence. “What? Oh, uh, yeah. Yes. Ma’am.” He was hardly aware of his fumbling of the words, eyes still glued to the meat.
And then he entered heaven. The smell maximized by multitudes as he heard a name called out. The back of his mind registered it as belonging to the divine female before him as a man came toward them with a heaping, majestic platter of heavenly bliss.
He changed his view, hearing but not understanding the words passed between the people around him. That was, until Katrina offered him her meat and asked the question of the century: "Would you like these? I think I want to eat this pudding before it gets cold."
He made to snatch it out of her hands before his mother’s lessons sternly reminded him to be polite. He inwardly scowled at her, but forced himself to gently take it from her hands. He even managed a polite smile of gratitude just as his stomach growled. And to put the pudding into his stomach – a phrase he was particularly fond of, even more so when he was handed a bowl – he even nodded at each of the men as she introduced them. If it took him time to remember them later, he could hardly be blamed. She did just hand him meat after all. No, not meat, a piece of Heaven itself.
The end of her sentence sunk in and with an inward irritated sigh at his mother’s engrailment of his mind – sheesh, even when he left, he still couldn’t end her lessons – he quickly swallowed what was in his mouth and replied, “I really appreciated that Sir. Thank you.”
His face fell as he looked over to the Skandians. He wasn’t actually scared of them, just a teeny, weeny bit, ah, not-so-overly-not-scared-of-them… But they did save his life, so he’d be forced to thank them. At least he managed not to shiver, not that they scared him or anything. He wasn’t a coward and neither was he unable to defend himself, he was a knight after all – albeit an inexperienced on as of yet, but still a knight. And a fast learner, he reassured himself. It was just…they were huge and well, who didn’t have some fear their idols?
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Dougal
Apprentice Messenger
Posts: 597
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Post by Dougal on May 19, 2009 5:11:31 GMT -5
Dougal looked down at the man who had just tried to kill him with a savage look. He ordered a bucket of water to be brought over and, when it arrived, dumped it over the unconscious man. As the man jumped up, startled, Dougal slashed a dagger across his throat. The man spluttered and then looked at Dougal with slightly unfocused eyes. He had just been beaten by a man rumoured to be fallen apart and was beginning to doubt that validity of the rumours.
"Good thing you used a practice knife, Geoff."
"Whenever I attack you I like to make certain on that."
"So, have I gone soft or not?"
"You, go soft? You're probably going to be killing us young blokes when you're eighty-nine."
"Nah, I'll be dead long before that. And so will you if you don't start improving your skills."
Geoff shook his head in an amused kind of disbelief.
"How did you pick me up? I was doing everything right."
"Yeah, up until you jumped me. I could hear you launching off the deck at me, so it gave me time to roll away. Plus you came at me with a straight thrust. Not a wise move."
"I'm starting to think that not fighting with you is a good idea."
"You catch on fast, don't you?"
Both men looked at each other and then started laughing. It was kind of a ritual in the SWC that, whenever they suspected that a member was loosing their touch, an 'assassination attempt' would be made on their lives. Not only did it keep everyone training, but it provided a constant source of amusement for those who weren't the target. Even then the target usually saw the joke. It was when someone didn't see that joke that you know they were needed watching and might not have what it took after all.
As with a real life scenario, there were penalties if you lost the training exercise. In this case, the loser had to pay the winner ten reels of silver, while the winner also received a tenth of the betting pool, although they usually got much less due tot eh fact that they never actually knew how much was in there to start off with. Dougal had a fair idea that he wasn't going to get much money this time, because he doubted that few people had bet against him.
"Go and get yourself breakfast. I'll be on the deck when you've got my money for me."
"You're the boss!"
Geoff picked himself up and, helped by a couple of his mates, walked over to where breakfast was being served. Dougal waited until they were out of earshot, and then started swearing under his breath as he dropped all pretence of not being hurt. Muscles ached all over and he only had vision in one eye, and only then it was somewhat limited. What had ever possessed him to let Henry have free reign with his punches? Dougal really had been out of his mind.
Blocking out the pain, Dougal looked around and noticed Katrina, Henry, Shamus and some other young man, probably an apprentice knight, standing in a cluster, talking. Normally, Dougal would have gone over and started making conversation, but he wasn't sure how welcome he'd be. Still, he had suggested to Katrina that they act as though nothing had happened and so, straightening his spine and ignoring his screaming muscles, Dougal walked over to the group and smile warmly at them all.
"Morning all."
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Post by ivory on May 19, 2009 14:36:34 GMT -5
"Morning all."
Adrian almost dropped his blessed pudding at that voice. A voice that was way too familiar. Thankfully he didn't though. He was a true knight now and where that might have been a little okay - a VERY little - he seriously doubted it would be now.
So he quickly swallowed and stood to attention instead. "Morning sir!"
Unlike the Scandavians, Dougal did scare him, though it was only a little bit, along with having his respect and awe. He started to ask if he wanted anything, but then wondered if he was supposed to. Though he'd got the manners of hierarchy drilled into him like all the other knights he trained with and those before him, he couldn't remember a single thing of his lessons.
Worried that he might have forgotten his swordplay too he flashed through some steps in his mind, and nearly sighed when he remembered them. His body tingled as he did them, as if begging for him to train. So it was only his manners that had left him. Good thing his mother wasn't here.
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Post by Brandwyn on May 19, 2009 15:47:23 GMT -5
Katrina opened her eyes at Dougal’s greeting, her spoon still hanging in her mouth since she had been savoring each bite of the pudding. She smiled a bit sheepishly at him at having been caught indulging herself. She pulled the spoon out of her mouth and greeted him, squelching the leap of her heartbeat at the sound of his voice. “Morning, Dougal, had breakfast yet?” She noticed he was moving just a bit stiffly and from the way he looked, he had to be hurting. She scooted over on the large crate, closer to Henry who was standing on her right side, to make room for him. She was not sure if he wanted to sit that close to her again or not though, so she didn’t say anything to him about sitting, instead just implying it with a look so he could ignore it without embarrassment if he wanted to.
Henry winced at the site of Dougal’s face. He really had gotten carried away, and in the process he had only hurt Katrina more. She had finally convinced him that Dougal’d had a good reason for wigging out, but she didn’t’ tell him the specifics. Henry didn’t really care. He meant what he had said to Dougal yesterday about hurting her again, but as he looked at the results of his anger from yesterday, he felt a little bad. Henry picked up the last bowl of bread pudding and handed it to Dougal as a peace offering, “uhh, hi Captain.” Henry looked down for a moment and then back into Dougal’s swollen eye, “I am sorry for that. I got carried away and you … didn’t deserve that.” He nodded his head to Dougal, feeling a bit foolish. His anger was gone, but he was still wary of Dougal and didn’t like the idea of another sparring match between him and Katrina. However, he didn’t want to go to war with bad blood between them. He held out the bowl of pudding in his left hand and held out his right hand for a handshake, “forgive me?”
Katrina watched Henry make amends with Dougal in disguised wonder and admiration. ‘Henry has such a big heart,’ she thought. ‘He really does deserve someone much better than I.’ she thought again for the 10th time that morning at least.
After a few moments Katrina noticed that Adrian was standing at attention. “Dougal, this is Sir Adrian. I believe he is newly graduated from Battleschool. Adrian, Captain Dougal.” Katrina wasn’t sure if they knew each other or not, but Adrian was acting a bit nervous, so she thought maybe that would help break the ice.
When the introductions were over Katrina watched Dougal for a few moments. He looked in pretty bad shape and she didn’t want to make him fight if he was hurting or seriously injured. “Are you sure you want to spar today? We have a week on this cursed boat and plenty of time to slice each other up.”
Katrina would be a bit disappointed if he didn’t want to spar because she was still keyed up emotionally and needed to let off some of the anxiety that the crying hadn’t taken care of. Sure, she could spar with someone else, but she would have to hold back with them or risk seriously injuring them. With Dougal she could let go – would have to go all out in fact, or he would force her to like he did yesterday. Besides she wanted to see how he handled being attacked by someone wielding two short swords instead of one long sword. Katrina was expert with her long sword, it being her favored weapon, but she also loved fighting with the short swords and was almost equally good with them. Plus it got her practicing with her shield arm to keep it fit.
She took another bite of her bread pudding and then grabbed a couple slices of pork as Shamus passed the bowl around to everyone. She was really hungry this morning. She looked to Dougal to see what his answer would be.
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Post by ivory on May 19, 2009 15:56:20 GMT -5
Adrian managed not to duck his head at the introductions, but he felt his face grow red. It wasn't that he was embarassed or had actually done anything wrong this time, he was just a little shy/nervous/think he was going to be sick. Probably because of the boat and Katrina's statement about there being a whole 'nother week of it, he assured himself. He was a knight after all. Funny thing though, he thought to himself, he wasn't afraid of dying in battle, but was crazily nervous of talking to someone of higher rank.
Whoever said he was normal?
He shook his head of the thought and really looked at Dougal. He wondered over the awkward way he held himself. Surly he hadn't been clumsly enough to fall or bad enough to lose that badly in a fight. He was Dougal after all. He shook his head again and figured that he was seeing things, blaming it on the cursed ship.
But if Dougal was hurt, he thought immediately after, then maybe he'd have a chance at sparring with Katrina, learning from her through hands-on-experience. Not thinking it was his right to challenge her, or rather ask, he waited for Dougal's reply to her question.
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Dougal
Apprentice Messenger
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Post by Dougal on May 20, 2009 1:35:50 GMT -5
A Dougal had a chuckle at Adrian, who was standing at attention. Obviously he still had some kind of reputation, or at least word of the incident hadn't spread very fast. Still, he accepted the salute, knowing that he'd just confuse Adrian if he refused it, as he was saluted even in the SWC. IT was perhaps one of the few trimmings of authority that Dougal didn't mind, having had to salute to who knows how many people when he was a lad. Acknowledging Adrian's salute with a nod, although he didn't really know him, Dougal replied to the polite greeting with a shorter, but still very friendly, greeting of his own.
"Morning."
Looking around, Dougal took in Katrina's sheepish look as she opened hers eyes and stopped savouring the taste of it. For a second Dougal thought about how ridiculous it was to be having pudding for breakfast and mentally smiled at the thought. He'd always promised himself that he'd never become one of the old sergeants who went on about how things were done in the army. Now that he thought about it, he;d had pudding a couple of times for breakfast when he was just a recruit, so he really couldn't complain about it.
“Morning, Dougal, had breakfast yet?”
"Yep, although I'm starting to think that I was too hasty."
Katrina moved over on the crate she was perched on and looked at him. Dougal new that she was offering him a seat, but didn't know if he would take it or not and so wanted to spare them both some embarrassment. While he wondered if it was wise to sit so close to Katrina after what had happened yesterday, his motto for today had so far been 'act as though everything was normal'. Besides, his bruises were hurting like hell and he wanted to sit down. Damn his age and all the curses that came with it.
Henry held out the last bowl of pudding to Dougal and apologised. Dougal gratefully accepted the pudding and shook Henry's hand warmly. He knew that Henry would still be suspicious of him and was only making the peace offering because he felt guilty, but that was fine with Dougal. At least they wouldn't be at each other's throats for the rest of the trip.
"What's there to forgive? Anything blow that gets past my guard is something I deserve. That's my philosophy, at least."
Adrian was properly introduced, and Dougal's smile broadened for a second as he saw Adrian's slight embarrassment. How long had it been since he'd been that embarrassed or in awe of someone? More than twenty years, probably closer to thirty. How time flew.
“Are you sure you want to spar today? We have a week on this cursed boat and plenty of time to slice each other up.”
Brought back to the present, Dougal smiled crookedly at Katrina. He admired her concern for him, but he was tougher than she realised. Still, she'd probably beat him for the next week or so, until he'd recovered enough. On the other hand, maybe he'd find some weakness in Katrina's technique and exploit it. Who knew?
"Well, in real life, you can't ask an enemy soldier to come back next week when you're much better, so I suppose I shouldn't skip training, should I?"
He grinned, winced slightly as his face hurt from the smile, and then grinned again to show that he was alright.
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Post by Brandwyn on May 20, 2009 14:19:59 GMT -5
When Dougal sat down next to her, Katrina had all she could do to act normal and as if his arm brushing against hers had no affect. She took another bite of her breakfast and leaned back against the crates behind them and stretched out her legs, crossing them at the ankles. Despite the slight undercurrent of emotions between her, Dougal and Henry, there was a feeling of camaraderie in the small group.
Katrina wondered why Adrian was a bit tense. She had never felt any awe or nervousness at meeting or speaking with higher ranking officers, except the Royal Family. She had grown up around nobles and learned early on to move in their circles and play their games of intrigue. But then she remembered standing in front of King Duncan two days ago and how nervous she had been at appearing before him in her bedraggled state from the long ride from Norgate. She smiled to herself at Adrian’s discomfort, trying to think of some way to make him feel at ease and more part of the group, even though she didn’t know him. “Perhaps after Dougal and I finish this little practice session, you would like to spar a bit?” She asked Adrian. “Assuming I am still conscious and able, of course.” She shot Dougal a grin.
Shamus leaned up against a large barrel and studied Katrina and Dougal, not saying a word, but there was a sparkle in his eye and a slight grin on his face that he seemed to be trying to suppress. Katrina noted it and stared him straight in the eye for a couple of minutes, daring him to say what was on his mind. Finally he grinned and said, “That is a pretty shiner you got there on your cheek, Katrina. Did you fall down or something?”
Katrina didn’t really feel up to this kind of teasing and doubted Dougal did either. Besides looking at Shamus made her think of his cousin, Robin and that brought back the whole incident. She tried to dispel any further ribbing. “Or something,” she said. “Perhaps you would like me to demonstrate on you what happened?” She smiled sweetly at him, but her eyes held a warning for him to drop it.
Shamus nodded, the grin still on his face, but he accepted her warning. “No, I don’t think that will be necessary. I just wanted to hear what happened from the horse’s mouth, that’s all.”
Katrina dropped her smile. “I am sure you have heard all about it by now. As far as I am concerned the incident is over and not to be mentioned again.”
Shamus looked at Dougal and the smile faded from his face. “Sure. Sure. I am sorry. I didn’t mean to start anything.” He looked chagrinned. “But, do you think it wise to spar again after what happened?”
“Absolutely!” Katrina sat up and placed her empty bowl back on the tray. “In fact I am ready whenever the Captain is.” She looked at him sideways, while still keeping an eye on Shamus to see his reaction. She wondered why he really brought the incident up at all. It seemed to her that he was testing the tension between her and Dougal or something. She thought furiously for several moments to try to figure out why he would do that, but couldn’t understand a motive beyond simple curiosity. It seemed suspicious, though.
She studied Shamus as she stood up and moved to the open area of the deck and drew both her short swords from the crossed scabbards on her back. She twirled them absentmindedly as she waited for Dougal to get ready. The swords flashed in a deadly circle around her sides and then around her head as she stretched out her muscles, warming up. Then she turned her full attention to Dougal as soon as he stood up, remembering his sudden attack from yesterday. She made a mental note of where the obstacles on the deck were and how much space she had behind her and to the sides. She watched Dougal like a cat watching a bird, waiting for a chance to strike, letting him make the first move if he wanted to.
She wanted to keep herself in the open and planned to be a bit more athletic today than she had been yesterday, knowing he would be slower, ever so slightly slower, from his injuries. It probably wasn’t chivalrous to take advantage of him that way, but she had no doubts he would do the same to her. She kept her weight on her toes and as he got closer, she stopped swirling her swords and held them down low at her sides with an easy grip.
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Dougal
Apprentice Messenger
Posts: 597
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Post by Dougal on May 20, 2009 17:05:19 GMT -5
Digging into his pudding, Dougal ate with surprising speed and skill. It didn't look like he was being greedy, stuffing his face with whatever food he could get his hands on but, nevertheless, that was what Dougal was doing. He could remember days when he'd been without food, both as a child and as an adult, and he had learnt to get whatever food you could whenever it was there.
“Assuming I am still conscious and able, of course.”
Having lost himself in the moment of eating - the pudding really was good - Dougal had missed the first part of Katrina's sentence but caught her grin and matched it with his own, throwing a wink into the mixture.
"Well, I can't guarantee anything."
Hopefully no one would take his joke the wrong way.
The rest of the group ate in silence for a few minutes, Dougal having finished off his pudding a little while before, but he noticed a kind of byplay between Katrina and Shamus. Shamus looked slightly amused and Katrina was daring him to say whatever it was that he thought. Dougal wanted to know what Shamus was thinking as much as Katrina, but decided not to show any interest, instead looking off to one side at a sparing match between one of his men and a Skandian. When Shamus did speak, however, Dougal paid attention because of the delicate subject matter the tone of Shamus' voice. As he wondered about Shamus' motives, he listened to Katrina handle the situation perfectly. Just the right mixture of threat and banter, perfect for getting rid of those pesky diplomats. Still, there had to be some reason why Shamus was pushing the point. He was a diplomat and Dougal was always suspicious when diplomats started to push buttons.
His first thought was that Shamus knew all about what his cousin rob had done and was looking for leverage. Perhaps he thought that he could use Katrina's emotions to control her slightly when she was in command of the Scotti forces. That'd explain why the Scotti wanted Katrina to be the Araluen commander over her. Still, if they thought that they could use past events to control Katrina, they were in for a rude shock and Katrina might end up in danger. Not that there were many people threatening Katrina. Dougal had fought her and knew how good she was and doubted that there were more than a handful of Scotti capable of besting, or at least equalling, Katrina in a fair fight.
The explanation was the Shamus, despite his friendly demeanour, was a cruel bastard who liked to torture people while they though they were his friends. That thought caused the last of Dougal's smile to disappear a second before Shamus looked over at him. Shamus look sorry that he had raised the issue and caused Dougal to smile in an ironic way, especially when Shamus asked it was wise to be sparing so soon. Who was he concerned for? Dougal or Katrina? Probably Katrina, but Dougal had no idea why. He was the one with depth perception.
“Absolutely! In fact I am ready whenever the Captain is.”
Katrina jumped up and Dougal groaned inwardly. He just gotten comfortable. Shrugging, he noticed that Katrina had abandoned her longsword and was now using two short swords. Interesting. He'd fought against people using a sword and dagger technique, but this was going to be his first time against someone using two short swords. He didn't want to assume that Katrina would use one of her swords for defence, but he did hope that that was the case. Trying to fight off two swords at once was going to be a bastard considering his condition.
Drawing his falcata and kukri, Dougal walked over to the makeshift sparring ring, watching Katrina warm up. It would probably be a good idea to do the same, but you didn't get the chance on a battlefield, so why should you have it in training? Instead, Dougal walked to the middle of the open deck and stood a little way back from Katrina, kukri out in front slightly an tilted to the left and the Falcata back so that its tip was level with the tip of the kukri. It was awkward, but he'd never really fought with two weapons before and had decided to take an unarmed combat stance and see how that word. It might even put Katrina off.
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Post by Brandwyn on May 20, 2009 18:39:32 GMT -5
Shamus had heard about the sparring match between Dougal and Katrina. The soldiers and Skandians were all talking about it yesterday evening. Shamus had gone around the ship and listened to the buzz, interjecting a question here and a comment there. He had a pretty good idea of what had happened except for the private talk between the two of them. No one had heard what he or she had told each other, but everyone was talking about how Katrina had cried and then Dougal had lost it as well. Shamus had a hard time imaging the burly fighter crying. Speculation was that it was because there was something going on between them and they were having a lover's quarrel.
Shamus doubted the truth of that, having spent the last five days with the two of them. They had not shown any signs of a personal relationship on the road. He tried to find out what had made them break down, thinking he may be able to use that knowledge somehow in the future to control one or the other of them. Knowledge was power after all. He waited for Katrina to come back up on deck all through the evening, but finally gave up and figured she had gone to bed.
This morning there was some discrete talk that Katrina's man-at-arms had spent the night in the Jarl's cabin with Katrina. Shamus did not have a hard time believing that rumor. If Katrina had really thrown herself at the Captain, and he had actually rejected her, then she would likely turn to Henry for comfort. Dougal would have driven Katrina right into Henry's arms actually. From the way Henry was acting, a bit smug and protective of Katrina, he thought that it may indeed be true that something had happened between Katrina and Henry during the night.
Shamus studied Katrina while she ate her pudding, totally oblivious for a very long time to his scrutiny. She didn't seem to be acting any different today from any other day since he had met her, other than perhaps seeming to be more relaxed and not so serious. This didn't fit in with the stories he had heard and presented a bit of a mystery. If she had just been rejected it was likely that she would be quite upset this morning. Not to mention she and Dougal wouldn't be sitting side-by-side acting as if they were nothing more than friends and colleagues.
Shamus couldn't abide unsolved mysteries. He had to find out what was really going on and figure out if that would help him in the future. His fishing for information didn't elicit the info he was looking for, but the reactions of both Katrina and Dougal told him that there was indeed something going on between them. What it was he couldn't tell. What he could do with that tidbit of information he didn't know, but he settled back to watch them spar with great interest. 'This voyage is going to turn out to be quite interesting after all,' he thought to himself as he munched on a sliced apple.
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Post by ivory on May 20, 2009 18:51:50 GMT -5
“Perhaps after Dougal and I finish this little practice session, you would like to spar a bit?”
Adrian chocked on the pudding he'd begun eating again after the introductions and slammed a fist into his chest before quickly swallowing. His face was beat red, but he was too awed to notice. He nodded his head enthusiastically and then remembered his manners. "Yes Sir Katrina. Ma'am. Sir."
Knowing that he'd start babbling any second, he began eating again, hiding his joy by looking down into his bowl.
“That is a pretty shiner you got there on your cheek, Katrina. Did you fall down or something?”
Adrian hadn't noticed the mark on her cheek and startled, he looked back up. He felt a little guilty about not noticing it before since she had given him food and his mother would've scolded him for not paying at least some attention to her physical well-being. But the guilt was quickly dismissed as curiosity took its place. He looked back and forth from shamus to Katrina as they sparred words. And then follwed Shamus' gaze to Dougal. He'd about opened his mouth to ask what they were talking about, but decided to follow in Shamus' footsteps and keep his mouth shut - for the moment. He'd always had a cat's grip on curiosity, though his mother had repeatedly told him it was impolite to do so, especially if it wasn't any of his business. That was the only thing she'd never been able to teach him.
But what could he say? He had been the only boy among six sisters and a mother. He had a father of course, but he followed the orders of his mother. Everyone did. She was a fiercesome beast.
He watched as Katrina stood up quickly and headed for the ring, swinging two short swords. He frowned at that, wondering how'd she manage to concentrate on both of them at the same time. He guessed she could use one as a shield, but why not just use a shield in the first place? Surely she wouldn't be able to use it to attack with while using the other one. Could she?
Excitement taking hold, he quickly finished his breakfast and immediately wished he hadn't as his stomach revolted. Only with a strong power of will did he manage to keep it from rising and after watching Dougal stand up and head over to begin the spar, he leaned forward in renewed anticipation which increased tenfold when he noticed Dougal too had two weapons.
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Post by Brandwyn on May 20, 2009 18:52:57 GMT -5
Katrina noticed that Dougal had looked almost surprised when she had pulled her short swords instead of her long sword. She could tell he was thinking how best to combat her and she watched him warily as he took his stance. Apparently he was not going to spring the first attack on her, but was going to wait for her to attack him first. She smiled a rather wicked smile at Dougal, deliberately giving him a warning, as she launched her self at him.
She swung her right sword in a side cut to the right side of his head and then a split second later launched a downward side slice with her left hand towards his right side just above the hip. This cause the sword in her left hand to cut across in front of her torso, leaving her left side exposed until she could pull her left arm back in a slicing motion across his hip and abdomen. She wondered if he would be able to block both blows. If he did manage it she was going to have to quickly reset with another attack or be prepared to repel his first attack at her. She also planned to pull her blow, should it actually get through. She really didn't want to inflict any more damage on him, not only because she cared about him, but also because King Duncan wouldn't appreciate it if she actually injured him so bad he could not complete his mission.
(OOC: sorry so short. I hope that was enough to work with. My mind is numb with fatique - lack of sleep. Can't think straight... I will modify it tomorrow if I need to.)
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Post by ivory on May 20, 2009 19:02:08 GMT -5
Adrian shook his head and groaned at what he deemed to be a mistake. He'd been drilled to take as few chances as possible that would leave an obvious opening, but she'd seem to ignore that fact. He wondered how she'd even become a knight and more so, why she'd been picked to command the Scotti forces. He figured that it was only so because they knew her to be weak. He wasn't prejudice against women - he wouldn't dare having grown up with his mother - but Katrina just didn't seem as if she really knew what she was doing, especially with someone of Dougal's level of skill.
Having not seen them spar the day before, he was ignorant of her actual skill and for that, he turned toward Henry, figuring he could make some quick money. "A silver that Dougal will win."
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Dougal
Apprentice Messenger
Posts: 597
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Post by Dougal on May 21, 2009 1:16:00 GMT -5
Katrina smiled wickedly and Dougal realised that she was about to attack him. Well, there was no point in trying to use surprise as they were both ready. Preparing for the attack, Dougal watched Katrina for any movement that could indicate where the attack was coming from. A quick glace at his head from Katrina was enough for him to gather that the first attack would come at his head. Sure enough, one blade headed towards the right side of his head. However, just when he least expected it, Katrina's second sword came at the right side of his body. She'd exposed herself to do so, but Dougal was in not state to take advantage of that. Katrina had probably realised that before she had taken the risky move, but she'd definitely know when he didn't use the opening.
Taking a step back, Dougal allowed the blades to go past him. Then, as Katrina began to turn slightly from the momentum of the swords, he stepped back in and launched an attack with both his falcata and kukri, aiming for Katrina's midriff. However, he didn't intend on actually hitting Katrina. He wanted her to block his attack so that he could take advantage of the curved sections of his weapons, twisting the around behind Katrina's own swords, pushing them out violently and then quickly disengaging and performing a dual thrust to her chest. There were many things that could go wrong, but Dougal was counting on surprising Katrina so that he could win this fight quickly, before his injuries started to tell.
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