Have you ever believed in a mirage?

[quickdrawlatino]

[Its bleeding early in the morning - the sun is but  short while away from rising. And where is Sam at this time? Training intensely! But not with his sword surprisingly - though it lies close by. Sam's on the deck of the ship - letting loose with a series of punches and kicks. What kind of style is he using? Its difficult to place - there's plenty of capoeira and judo peppered in - especially with how he's tossing around the dummies he's set up pretty darned hard. As in more than one. It seems he likes to practice on multiple targets at once.]

Mmmh... nothing like a good morning warm up...

[He rolls his neck in a relaxed manner as he flicks his sheathed sword up from the ground with his foot and snatches it out of the air as it dropped - resting it along his shoulders as he watched the sun rise. He pauses to look over at you with a raised eyebrow.]

I didn't think anyone else would bother waking up this early.

Comments

[quickdrawlatino]

Hm?

[He raises an eyebrow your way. It was more an observation than an insult but with this man its difficult to tell sometimes.]

Ah yes... I remember. You don't exactly have much practice with the sword do you?

When you're up against an opponent who is ahead of you in skill by leaps and bounds, even size doesn't matter anymore.

[paladin_robot]

I don't... but... I suspect there's a bit more than skill involved when you stop a sword the size of an apartment building.

[Richard squints slightly, curious.]

Though I imagine there was quite a bit anyway, given how you kept up with him...

[quickdrawlatino]

You would be surprised. Compared to full bodied Cyborgs my exoskeleton is quite an antique.

[He chuckles softly and shakes his head.]

Size isn't a factor of power. I believe if you had more skill with your blade you may have been able to see him off without my intervention.

Make no mistake, at his level, he probably would have been able to beat you soundly.

[paladin_robot]

Pretty sure mass counts... w-wait a minute! I've dealt with stuff worse than that guy before! D-Don't think I'm just some pushover because he blocked me once!

[I do believe sir, you've struck a nerve.]

TROLLLOLOLOLOLOLOOOO~

[quickdrawlatino]

[Which happens to be something Sam is really good at. When you consider that this is a man who can somehow piss off AI, taunting regular humans is probably a piece of cake to him.]

Oh? I wouldn't think you were a pushover for that my friend. I would think you were one because you were floating around in the ocean in nothing but a towel.

Re: TROLLLOLOLOLOLOLOOOO~

[paladin_robot]

T-T-T-That was b-b-because... Hot spring... at time of attack...!

[Richard quickly huffs up his chest. He's gotta have something!]

I've fought Saturn itself!

[...Well, technically, the Getter team finished that one off didn't they...?]

A-A-And I've fought the Neuroi!

[quickdrawlatino]

Oh? From what I heard it was a group of absolute maniacs who took the invaders on. My kind of people actually... pity I couldn't meet them.

[He's rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he pondered the subject of the Neuroi.]

And correct me if I'm wrong, aren't the Neuroi usually handled by teenage girls who wear no pants?

[paladin_robot]

Well... both are true... but I helped with both as well! I was there to punch faces and weird shapes!

[Now Richard's looking kinda ashamed... hasn't got that much merit going for solely himself, beyond maybe a major mook or two.]

But then... I'm an engineer. I wasn't actually expected to be caught up in combat like this.

...Especially not like this, thinking about it.

[quickdrawlatino]

Well in that case... its best to start learning how to fight like a swordsman instead of an engineer. Your sword is not a wrench to swing around and bludgeon people over the head with.

[With that he's going to set his sword aside to pick up a pair of the wooden practic ones.]

I have enough time to educate you. Unless you're afraid of bruises of course.

[paladin_robot]

E-Educate me? What are you...

...Fine! I can take it! I'll show you what I can do!

[Richard holds out an arm, expecting to catch one of the wooden swords.]

[quickdrawlatino]

[Oh somehow Sam's doubting that. He throws you one of the swords... .and as it arcs through the air towards you... HE RUSHES FORWARD TO LAUNCH A SWING TO THE SIDE OF YOUR LEG!!]

[paladin_robot]

S-shit!

[Fortunately, Richard's not wholly untrained in responding to two things at once. That was kinda the point of his training with Raynor - to be able to act without leaving himself open.

And so he leaps upwards and over, trying to dodge the wooden blade intent on hurting him, to try and grab the one intended for defending him.]

[quickdrawlatino]

[The good news is that you managed to grab the blade, The bad news was that Sam was now letting another swing loose up top - attempting to get you by the side of your head. Unfortunately as you're in the air you're gonna have trouble dodging Richard.]

Come on! Make it a challenge!

[paladin_robot]

[It takes a moment for Richard to realise that no, he doesn't have a shield to raise as he would in Ideigi. And that moment is enough of a delay that, by the time he brings in the wooden sword to block, all it results in is the weapon being knocked back into the very head it was trying to defend!

So Richard goes rolling across the deck, groaning as he's clearly not off to a good start.]

[quickdrawlatino]

[And Sam's just going to cluck his tongue in a chiding manner, shaking his head with a totally amused smile.]

And this is where we need to start from. I have to say, it takes a lot of effort to make a failure like that amusing.

[paladin_robot]

Oh yeah... because every novice can pull that off from the start...

[Richard's a little unstable as he uses the wooden sword to get back up on his feet, before taking a few moments to just... figure out how he should hold it.]

Uh... in my machine, I have a giant shield on the left arm, so... not sure if I should be one handed... or both...

[quickdrawlatino]

Yes. I remember that as well. The next time we practice you may wish to get something to stand in for it... but in the mean time - let us just assume you lost it somehow.

[He's now considering things, thinking back to the fight and what he saw of Ideigi.]

Considering the size of your sword, learning to use two handed swings would be best. That both sides of your weapon are deadly rather than just one you can get a little more creative.

And given the design of the hilt... perhaps you can take advantage of it. It looks as if it can catch your opponent's weapon if you're lucky. With the right sort of movement you can rip it out of their hands

[He nods to himself and looks at the blade.]

We may need something a bit weightier and a bit wider than that.

Hold up the sword.

[paladin_robot]

Well... I can lose it in the fight, so thats fair...

[Richard takes a hold of the wooden blade with both hands, keeping the flat edge close to his body, and the weapon held at an angle in front of him. He listens intently, slightly confused, but also slightly intrigued.]

I hadn't considered that with the hilt...

[Yeah, those bits on the guard could hook stuff, thinking on it. Could possibly follow up with a blunt strike...]

R-right!

[And so he stands with the sword held up, slightly further from his body now, and a foot half off the ground. Didn't want to necessarily be caught out again...]

[quickdrawlatino]

[Sam's going to tap lightly at the blade before suddenly slashing at it. Hard. It was mostly to test if Richard knew exactly HOW to hold his sword. Even if its out of a fight.]

[paladin_robot]

[There! He'd been expecting something like this!

He stumbles a bit, but Richard manages to just about block this one with a quick movement of the blade to try and deflect the blade downwards, and give him a chance to move away. Trying to outright halt this guy would be crazy.]

[quickdrawlatino]

Oh? A fast learner? Good. Maybe you might live long enough to get good with a sword.

But lets see how fast you can get once we get something more your speed than these.

[paladin_robot]

Gotta start somewhere, right?

[There's a little aggression - though more in the competitive sense - in Richard's voice as he makes a counterattack. The first strike, a simple sideways slash, is a feint however. The blade would be pulled back quickly after combat, and then suddenly shifted for a lower attack.]

[quickdrawlatino]

[Sam of course could spot the tell tale signs of a feint - still why not humor the rookie swordsman. As he saw the low strike coming he sidestepped from the blow - grabbed Richard by his extended arm and sent him to the ground!]

Another lesson that you should learn... make use of everything. Your sword isn't your only weapon. Your fists and your feet can make things even worse for your opponent if you know what to do...

And that shield of yours can be used for so much more than just fending off attacks.

[paladin_robot]

[Richard's face kinda went skidding across the surface of the deck there, and he winces several times in pain as he stands up.]

S-Should have seen that one coming...

[He swiftly turns, holding his sword defensively.]

I've thrown it a few times, but really if I need to protect someone and I'm not fast enough on foot.

[Richard chuckles slightly.]

Trying to work on better using the magic too...

[quickdrawlatino]

Interesting... I hear a lot about magic. I thought it would be far rarer... and if you don't have your shield try to push the offensive. You aren't as well protected and your defense would take timing you haven't learned yet.

[And to illustrate the point Sam is going to rush forward and let loose a at blinding speeds - several rapid slashes from a multitude of arcs were launched at Richard. If this were his sword - there's no doubt the frenchman would be in ribbons.]

[But how well does Richard fare from defending himself from this attack?]