A Farewell Match [Clair/Gwen]

[Clair Feldsky]

OoC: Sometime after the Battle at Ariston's Headquarters in Sacae (A chance in Hell). After, or possibly during part of "Grim Plan" in Sacae.

BiC:

Clair moved through the camp. The army had had a rough time of it recently, but they'd pulled through. They'd been betrayed by their own High Commander, ordered to death alongside Richter, but when the Commander had shown them the way, they'd fought with everything they had. Then they'd pressed on, running that treacherous rat, Ariston into his hole, and breaking it down around him.

The blond haired pegasus knight was proud of proud of what they'd accomplished. Oh, they'd not done it alone, two dragons, and Lycian cavalry was definitely not something to take lightly, but that didn't lessen her tired pleasure in coming through the storm of battle.

As she moved through camp, Clair noticed one of their better known soldiers. "Guinevere the Gorgeous" some of the men called her. It's true, she was beautiful, but what the young Officer saw most in her was another woman who shared in the ambition to improve, and a companion in arms tested true.

Dismounting Corona, and coming towards her, Clair smiled and spoke up. "Guinevere, you holding up alright? That was a pitched battle earlier."

[Guinevere von Altenburg]

Guinevere snapped to attention as Officer Feldsky spoke to her, her instincts taking over. "I'm doing alright, Ma'am. I had a few injuries but the healers saw to them." She gave Claire a smile. "Thank you for your assistance earlier, I'm not sure I could have gotten that gate up in time by myself." She looked over Claire. She was a good looking girl; Guinevere was actually surprised she wasn't as popular with the men as herself, possibly due to her ranking. But she was also an excellent fighter, she had already proved that several times. Definitely someone Gwen wanted to be like.

[Clair Feldsky]

Clair smiled reminiscently at Gwen's snap to attention. How many times had she done that over few years. Now she had gotten used to having people do it when she came around. "Well, credit goes where credit is due. You were the one that got there and started lifting the gate. I just tried to help."

Clair exhaled, and rubbed her forehead as she relaxed herself. She herself had managed to come out with only a few injuries, and a bruise where she'd been hit by some monstrosity of a wyvern. The healers had worked their magic on her as well, and Clair had been left with little to prove she'd even been in the fight. "At ease, and relax, Gwen...." The pegasus knight rubbed her eyes for a moment. It helped her to stay alert. "I'm glad you made it through ok. I'll be glad to have you on the ground next time we meet the enemy, too."

[Guinevere von Altenburg]

Guinever felt her eyes shift downwards and stayed quiet for a few seconds. When she finally spoke, her voice was quiet but resolved. "Actually, Officer Feldsky, I'm leaving with Sir Rayl for a little bit. I will be back, when Sir Rayl and his troops return, but it won't be for a little bit. But when I do come back, I be proud to fight along side you again." She went quiet for another few seconds, before a small smile came on her face. "You know..." She started, laying her lance on her shoulder, "We never did get to have our spar."

[Clair Feldsky]

That caught Clair's attention. "Sir... Rayl? Well, I doubt the Commander will have a problem with letting you go to help." Rayl was, as near as the pegasus knight could tell, one of Richter's closest friends, and certainly someone considered trustworthy. "Wow... Traveling with Sir Rayl." Clair smiled "You'll have to tell me all about it when you get back."

"You know, you're right. We could fix that right now though, if you'd like." She smirked a bit at the other blond. Clair had never gotten to see much of Gwen's fighting before, but she imagined that it couldn't be far off from what she herself did, when fighting on the ground. The only obvious, discernible difference between the two, was that pegasus knight armor had less coverage. Even the custom set of Etrurian armor she wore didn't offer as much protection as Gwen's armor did. Of course, less armor meant it was lighter as well.

"It should be easy enough to find a space clear enough, if you don't mind the wet from the rain."

[Guinevere von Altenburg]

"Of course not," Gwen replied with a smile. "Let's go then." The soldier started off, looking around for a decent spot. She walked around for a few minutes, her lance still leaning on her shoulder. Soon enough, she spotted a nice clear area where they could have their spar. "This looks pretty good!" She took a few steps away from Clair and lifted up her lance. "Ready when you are!"

[Clair Feldsky]

Clair took her slim lance from Corona's harness, and likewise, adopted an opening stance a few steps away. She brought everything to mind quickly. Things she'd learned through basic training, Richter's instruction, and just flat out experience.

She remembered her first morning serving with Commander Richter. It had been his first day as Salvation Point's Region Officer as well, and he'd wanted to test the abilities of his new command. They had sparred that morning, if it could even be called that. Looking back on it, she'd call it something closer to her flailing wildly with her lance, while he dodged, blocked, and avoided most of her strikes. Still watching him move the way he did, had allowed something to "click" in her mind. She understood what he meant when he'd said to "take a deep breath", or to "focus on the target". She'd definitely improved since then.

Clair was not the bumbling spear-fighter that she used to be. That much was certain, But neither had she reached the level of proficiency Richter had. It would be an interesting match to see herself now, matched up with the Richter of then. Much closer, she imagined.

With a flick of her mind, she dismissed those thoughts, turning her attention to the readied Gwen. Her breathing calmed, and her mind focused and ready, just like he'd taught her at that time.

"Begin." And with that simple word, she launched forward with a horizontal swing to the midsection. It was a controlled strike, obviously, but it didn't appear so from the speed it was moving.

[Guinevere von Altenburg]

Guinevere watched closely as Clair sped towards her. The soldier rolled underneath the incoming spear, hoping that she didn't change in midswing and go downwards. She sprung up to her feet and readied herself again. This time, she took the chance to counterattack. Moving as quick as she could, she hurried towards Clair and thrust her lance forward, aiming at about shoulder height. That way, if it hit and pierced her armor by accident it wouldn't hit anything vital.

[Clair Feldsky]

Gwen rolled under her strike. It wasn't something that would work in every situation, but it did in this one. The tactic had surprised Clair, but she didn't let herself give into that surprise. As Guinevere came up and launched a counter thrust, Clair prepped herself too.

Gwen was moving fast, so Clair decided to sacrifice ground and step back, allowing herself more time as the spear came in. It was a direct thrust, which was the only thing that allowed her to try catching the strike instead of sidestepping it. Waiting till the last moment, she popped her own weapon upward, catching Gwen's attack at the tip. The thrust was already targeted high, so it didn't take much to bump it just a bit higher, over head level, before swinging the parrying end of her lance in for a blow to the side.

[Guinevere von Altenburg]

Guinevere winced as Clair's thwacked her in the side. She jumped back with a grunt of pain but shook it off. It had been a foolish attack, really, aiming so high. It was only to be expected that Clair would block it like such, she was quite the fighter after all. If she wanted a fighting chance, she knew she'd have to try her best, not just aiming not to hurt. She paused for a few seconds, thinking of the best way to go about her next strike. Finally decided on her next move, she ran forward again. This time, she gave a diagonal swing from her bottom left up to her top right, aiming to make the strike difficult to block or counter.

[Clair Feldsky]

Clair resisted the urge to smile as her spear thwacked into Gwen's side. While she felt a deal of accomplishment, that could have made the difference between her fellow lance fighter's life or death in a battle. Gwen recovered quick though, stepping back and seeming to reassess her opponent. Clair held back as well, waiting for a reaction.

It wasn't long in coming. Within a few moments, Guinevere began to move in again, this time swinging upward at an angle. There were a few ways to deal with this swing, but it was definitely one of the more vulnerable angles. Blocking it in conventional ways required either stepping back, mostly out of range, or stepping deeper into the attack, and meeting it in closer range. Clair however was beginning to learn that conventional fighting could be exploited by certain reactions.

Instead of aiming to block, Clair stepped in on the offense as well, using the haft of her spear to thrust towards her opponent's chest armor. While not entirely blocking the swing, the Pegasus Knight's thrust would interfere in the path of Gwen's attack, while forcing some sort of reaction. Perhaps Clair was testing how the other spearwoman would react. There were just two things she had to make sure of while they closed on each other: controlling the power of the thrust, and not putting her head where it would be cracked open.

[Guinevere von Altenburg]

Gwen held tight as her lance connected with Clair's. She knew that if she didn't hold tight, her lance could go flying and thus give Clair a clean win. Standing her ground, the soldier planted her feet and put her weight behind her lance. She could tell this was close to being over, with this attack being either the last or the last coming soon. And she didn't want to give in, not now. Holding tight, she kept pushing against Clair. The end was near.

[Clair Feldsky]

Clair could feel Gwen pushing back once their weapons collided. The truth was, that Clair just didn't have the strength to be able to directly overpower the other woman. Instead, she lunged in, to the side, while attempting to slip her weapon loose from the spear-lock.

Seeing an opportunity, Clair broke contact before sweeping her lance into the back of Gwen's knee, sending the soldier to the ground. This was quickly followed up by a tap on the shoulder from the tip of the pegasus knight's lance.

"That was an impressive match, Gwen." Clair said, planting the butt of her slim lance on the ground after a brief moment. "There were a few times in there that you had me worried. Are you alright?"

[Guinevere von Altenburg]

Gwen sat up, rubbing her head as she did. "I thought I had you for a minute there, but I guess that's why you're higher up than me." She laughed weakly and got to her feet, brushing herself off. "And yes, I'm find. Just got my bell rung is all. Nothing to worry about." She grabbed her lance off the ground and leaned on it for a few seconds, collecting her breath. "It certainly was a fun little duel. I'd love to do it again sometime."

[Clair Feldsky]

"Well, I think it's expected that an Officer at least hold her own with one of her soldiers." Clair spoke up. The spar with Gwen had given her a feeling of accomplishment, but it had also made the pegasus knight aware of several flaws in her defenses, and timing. That was just something she'd need to work on to correct.

"It reminded me of my first spar with Commander Abend, you know. Testing an opponent's defenses, and tightening up your own. It was a good match."

Clair paused for a moment. She really needed to get more proficient at fighting from Corona's back. Pegasus Knights did ride pegasi into battle after all, but something in her thought that mastering ground combat would be just as valuable. Either way, she'd begin training more for combat from Corona's back.

Coming back to the moment, she spoke up again. "When you come back from your trip with Sir Rayl, I expect a rematch. Ok?"