The Wolf and the Peacock (attn: Garren)

[Sunny]

Katrie had been sent somewhere far away, leaving only a soft buzz in Dax’s head. Worry for her consumed him; rather than wearing her wedding ring to dust, he filled his time with exercise and practice. Although most knew his skill at unarmed fighting had vastly improved, few at the Grey Tower knew the title he had earned while he was away. After seeing how newcomers reacted to Riahana’s herons, he found he preferred his anonymity.

On this particular day he sat in the sand of the practice yards, stretching the kinks that had formed after his workout earlier. Some distance away, another man engaged in a similar past time. The Tairen knew the man's name was Garren, and that he had been Gaidin for some time. More importantly, he was of similar height and build to Dax himself, with a similar fighting style. They practiced in separate silence perhaps six days out of ten, and over the last three, the younger Gaidin had been watching the older with veiled interest. Judging by what he had seen, Garren posed the most likelihood of a fair match out of all those in the yard.

Dax finally let curiosity get the better of him. He finished his stretch, pushed himself to his feet, and approached the older man. "Would you be interested in a spar? There are not many here who can match me, and I would welcome the challenge." It was statement of fact, not a boast. Rather ironic as well, he realized abruptly. The last time he had spoken to Garren it had been for a very brief spar as a Drin'far'ji....one that had ended poorly for him. I have come a long way indeed.

[Eve]

The Warder Yards had become comfortable to him again, and that pleased the old wolf. He had spent some of his happiest days here, and some of the darkest ones as well. Since his last return, he had thrown himself into the hustle and bustle of the Warder Yards once again. He no longer taught full classes, but he still took each and every private lesson the Tower threw at him, burying himself in his work, pushing his body to the limits so that he could lose himself in the routine....And it had worked. Angel helped, of course, and their unique situation, but the work helped every bit as much.

Today already he had given two private lessons and one evaluation, and he felt limber and loose, a sign that the day would go well. Of course, he hadn't missed the interest of the young man over the last few days. Had he been blind, he still would have smelled the peak in the other's scent when they practiced near one another. So when he was approached, he was unsurprised by the request. In fact, he was pleased. He remembered this Gaidin from his younger days, and the one encounter they had had years before. Finishing the stance he was holding, he slowly let the tension move out of his body, not answering until both feet were on the ground and he was facing the man again. He let his yellow eyes move up and down the other's form, his relaxed stance saying more than a martial stance ever would. He cocked his head to the side, considering, judging...even though he already knew his answer. He gave a curt nod. "A test of my own skills would be nice." he said, his seldom used voice still strong, though lacking the bite he had needed to force into it in his instructor days. If he remembered, he had been rather...bad off the last time he had seen this young man, and perhaps the difference in his attitude would be surprising. "It's been awhile, and I like to keep himself sharp." He moved to a fighting circle, throwing over his shoulder. "Points , pinning, yielding, or boundaries?" He asked, meaning did the young man want to fight until they reached a certain amount of points, until one of them was pinned and unable to get up, until one surrendered, or until one was forced in any way to exit the ring.


(OOC: I loved the title, by the way. It got the point across rather perfectly. And don't mind any shoddyness of the writing. Getting back into the swing of forum posting.)

[Sunny]

Dax followed Garren to the ring, tilting his head thoughtfully as he considered the options given. Points? Without a referee he knew he would not keep track. “Yielding,” he said, flashing white teeth at the older Gaidin as they faced each other across the ring. He settled back, taking a deep breath.

For a moment his mind scrambled, searching for Katrie; the faint muted pulse that told him she lay far to the east was all he found. He squeezed his eyes shut, and envisioned blackness. The ko’di came easily, and as it did, it pushed away the loss and fear that ate at him, leaving only peace and purpose. Katrie has shown him she could take care of herself. She would return, and when she did....he smiled.

He nodded his readiness to Garren, his body automatically centering, balancing, readying for a fight with fists raised. The two moved simultaneously, following unspoken rules that both knew as well as they knew how to breathe. Dax kept his back straight, eyes shifting from shoulders to golden eyes then down, studying his opponent’s footwork. Although Garren was larger, the way he moved reminded Dax oddly of Renne, and he felt his lips twitch up at the memory.

The Tairen stepped in, feinting first at Garren’s face, then following with a sharp jab to the man’s midsection.

[Eve]

Garren lifted his brow at the younger man, looking both considering and impressed. Yielding was one of the hardest ways to win a spar, especially between two stubborn Gaidin. And he had learned in his time that *all* Gaidin, including he, was stubborn. But he had offered, and he wasn’t about to relent now. He smiled softly and nodded his head as they entered the ring. Turning, he squared off with the man. Bowing for a moment, his eyes not leaving the other, he then straightened and stepped back into the Ready Stance. Right foot back, right hand held a little lower than the left, he held his fists clenched lightly and at the ready as he shifted his weight to the balls of his feet, able to bound and move at will. His nostrils flared as the other’s emotional state tumbled strangely for a moment, and he cocked his head curiously at it. Then it flowed from him, and Garren believed the other had achieved the Oneness. He said nothing during all of this, and then they began to move.

His motions were fluid and careful, feet crossing behind each other like a dancer, weight shifting easily to allow the best balance between motion and speed. He bounced slightly as he went, making one’s eye follow his quick darts up and down. He kept his hands grasped lightly before his face, fingers not quite touching his palms, ready to harden into fists or spread to catch and grab at a moment’s notice. His eyes stayed fixed to the other Gaidin’s as he gauged Dax as much as he, in turn, was going gauged.

The man came in quick, going for the first strike with quick precision. Crossing right and left wrists, he uncrossed them for strength and moved to counter the feign. When it turned into a strike towards his stomach, his right hand dipped, countering it with the strong bone of his forearm. Right arm still down, in contact with Dax’s hand, he pivoted his weight, shifting balance to his front left leg, twisting his shoulder, and bringing the arm that had just blocked upwards in an elbow strike straight towards the side of the other Gaidin’s head…

[Sunny]

Dax brought his left arm up to cover the side of his head, bent with his hand wrapped over his shoulder. When Garren's elbow struck, the Tairen allowed the impact to turn him to the side, lessening the force of the blow. His arm snapped straight and he brought it back sharply, the side of his hand aimed at the older man's throat. Garren ducked away, and Dax brought his hands back to guard position, silently evaluating his opponent.

A breath later the Tairen moved, working his way in a circle around the older Gaidin and making a series of fast attack, testing reflexes and speed. Garren blocked and counter-attacked with smooth efficiency, and Dax found his thoughts drifting back once more to prior spars. Malina had laid him on his back more times than he could count before he had finally pinned her. Jemis had wanted him to kill Riahana, and she had bloodied his nose in return. He had also wanted to destroy Renne, but the bond-

The bond would not stop him here. What would that mean for Garren, in the long run?

The Tairen caught a blow from the Andoran with his open palm, wrapping his fingers around the other man's fist and twisting and yanking down sharply, his other forearm coming down sharply on the back of his opponent's neck.
Time would tell.
--
OOC: I sincerely apologize for how long this took. I think I burned myself out a bit getting Dax's herons. Oof. Also I admit I'm basically making things up at this point- I hope it's not bugging you. :\ I watch videos for inspiration and descriptions, but that's not quite the same as personal experience.

[Eve]

The two danced in circles that spun ever faster. Garren found himself surprised with the man’s talent. From his cocky stance and posture he would have thought the other Gaidin an easy spar. Not simple of course, the man was fully trained, but Garren so rare got a run for his money any longer. As they traded strikes, evading, scoring, dodging and taking , however Garren found himself having to work hard to give as much as he got. He began to grin as they moved, the physical exertion one he enjoyed. It was much like in the old days of his pack, fighting with some of the more experienced wolves, growling and yapping at each other as they put down the pups. His mind paused for a moment; was he really thinking of the younger man as the more experienced of the two? The revelation caused his grin to widen, and had Dax been able to smell him, he would have smelled excitement coming from the older Gaidin.

He struck, and there was a moment of honest surprise when he felt Dax’s hand wrap around his fist. He was yanked forward, his momentum allowing the other man to carry his body downwards until he was bent, and the blow to the back of his neck was inevitable. He took it, he had no choice, but let it knock him off balance. Pulling and twisting, he freed his trapped hand from the hold and rolled twice to escape his pursuer. His roll ended in a crouch, and for a moment he panted, jaws open, gold eyes glinting as they watched the other Gaidin. The blow to the back of his neck had sullied his mind for a moment, and so he evaded as it cleared. He stayed low, rolling and dodging, making it hard to catch him as he spun in tumbles around the outer edge of their ring. Suddenly, and a flurry of motion, he kicked out both legs. Weight tipping back onto his palms planted behind him he swung one foot at the man’s legs before following it with his second. Most could, of course, dodge the first sweep, but the second following a half second afterwards was the one that was truly aimed to knock Dax’s feet from underneath him…


OOC: I have experience. I trained for almost a decade in Taekwondo, and very very nearly reached my black belt. I was one belt away before life, and an injury stopped that. Speaking from that view point I would like to say that your posts are very detailed and well thought out. You don't have to worry at all! Forgive me if I have less action in my posts. I'm used to only a strike or two traded.