|
Post by Syana Flamberge on Jan 17, 2016 11:54:37 GMT -6
Syana arched her eyebrow. She was mildly surprised at Loreley's reaction. She had expected some kind of shock, but that was a bit much. "Calm yourself. The only one here who heard me was you. Would you rather I have kept that a secret, and had it revealed at an inopportune time? No. I'm showing you a certain level of trust and respect by tell you. Don't make me regret that." A stern look grew over Syana's face as she talked. She wasn't actually mad or anything. Granted, she was a little disappointed by the girl's reaction. Clearly, there was still a lot to learn. Anyways, she was mad. But pretending to be mad would probably scare Lore, and why pass up an opportunity like that?
"It means nothing for you. I can still teach you anything and everything you need to know. But by all means, if that revelation is too much for you, the door is right over there." Syana leaned back in her chair again and motioned her head to the door. Again, she wasn't mad or anything. But if her being an assassin was too much for Lore, she'd rather not waste her time. Instead, she could go out and make some more money. Not that she was exactly hurting for money at this point, but you could never have too much. If things kept going this well, her kids would be set. Then again, she'd still make them do something. She wasn't gonna have lazy kids. If she had kids. Man, how has she gotten so off track?
|
|
Loreley
Archer
A sailor lass with a powerful namesake from the Western Isles at the start of her adventures.
Posts: 72
Profession: Sailing Adventurer
Affinity: Fire
OoC Alias: Feldsky
|
Post by Loreley on Jan 18, 2016 20:26:30 GMT -6
"N-no." She watched for signs of the red head to sprout horns or grow fangs: Nothing quite so discernible occurred. Lore had a healthy respect for the dangers being infamous could bring. Also, she was certain that Syana had gained enemies over the years now.... The fact that the assassin was still alive made the risk and the idea of learning from her even sweeter, even while it felt like it could turn deadly.
"I was just... surprised. Sorry." The islander was a little embarrassed by her reaction, but didn't think it too far out of line. Surviving took alertness and a willingness to act, and fear could bring both of those. It had sparked her into action in her home islands more than a few times.
"Besides! This is my table. You're the one that came over to join me!" She said, kicking a little spunk back into her voice and sipping on her mug again. She hoped it had come out a fun and cocky voice, but wasn't certain if that had made it across.... This was too much of an opportunity to pass up. She wouldn't let herself leave over a little fear or a stern look. She'd just have to stick it out until it became natural.
"I should pay my tab here, so we'll be in the clear. What will I need to get started?" She still had some of her supplies from her travels on the ocean. Habit had instilled into her a need to have a few essentials like a small coil of rope and a work knife, as well as a water skin tucked away at all times.
|
|
|
Post by Syana Flamberge on Jan 29, 2016 15:29:56 GMT -6
The smirk returned to Syana's face as the spunk returned to Loreley. Much better. Had she truly been scared by Syana there, there wouldn't be much hope for her out in the working world. But as things stood now, she still had a chance. She gave the girl a nod. "Rule number 13 of mercenary work, never screw over a bartender. They hear everything, and they see everything. They're usually a good source of information on jobs, so if you try to skip out on a tab, it can come back to haunt you." She once was pair with a guy who skipped out on all his tabs and he wondered why he could never get any information. That partnership didn't last too long.
Syana then gave the girl a shrug. "You don't really need anything right now. You won't be on an actual job for a while. I'm gonna test and train you up a bit before we get that far. That's your first decision, do you want to start training right now or wait until the morning?" Either were fine with Syana. She operated a lot at night, so staying up late was nothing. She was less of a morning person, but if that's what Loreley wanted, they would make it work.
She had a few ideas for jobs lined up for the pair of them in the future, but like she had said, she wanted to see where the girl was at skill wise before they attempted anything. Syana didn't want to get her involved in anything that would be over her head.
|
|
Loreley
Archer
A sailor lass with a powerful namesake from the Western Isles at the start of her adventures.
Posts: 72
Profession: Sailing Adventurer
Affinity: Fire
OoC Alias: Feldsky
|
Post by Loreley on Jan 31, 2016 13:11:55 GMT -6
"Number thirteen? It sounds like sailor's rule seven." She was just making that number up, but it was common knowledge to sailors. "Never cheat a tavern keep!So... will I be learning the other twelve as well?" Lore was fully invested now, and when she was invested in something, it was hard to keep it from swallowing up everything about her life for a time. That was how she'd ended up here in Bern, actually. Exploring the mainland was quite the job for a lone islander, and it still held a grand charm to be walking over roads with her own two feet instead of riding the winds over the waters for once. She would always love the sea, but this earthy stuff beneath her feet... it was a novel experience to have so much of it around her.
The next question Syana asked drew her attention. She might not need anything now, but she did want to put on a good show for the red head. She mulled over the question for a few seconds, testing for double meanings in it. What would it say about her when she gave her answer? Argh... She was going to drive herself crazy with overthinking things if she didn't just stop herself. This wasn't really a game. True, she wanted to give a true showing of herself, but she didn't need to try to guess things as though there was a right answer.
"We can start tonight." Lore said calmly. What would this involve? Testing and training she said, but that was a little ambiguous. Lore would be more than happy to show what she could do with a bow, she definitely wanted to see how a real merc approached hiring herself out for a job, and she was curious what else was involved in the process.
"I think starting tonight would give us a better place to start tomorrow, yeah?... What did you have in mind?"
|
|
|
Post by Syana Flamberge on Feb 6, 2016 22:46:03 GMT -6
Syana clapped her hands together. "Excellent! Follow me." Getting to her feet, Syana headed out the door. She paused briefly outside the place as she waited for Loreley to pay the tab. Once the girl had caught up, she began to move again. Looking over at the girl, she mentioned "There are actually 394 rules in total, for now at least. But we'll worry about those later. For now, follow me."
Walking until they had left the town behind them, Syana lead the girl to a somewhat large clearing. During the day, she suspected that children would often come out here to play. At this time of night, however, it was deserted. Which made it perfect for what she had in mind for tonight.
Standing in the center of the clearing, Syana turned and faced Loreley. "Your training starts right now." Pushing a few strands of hair of her her face, she began to prepare. Reaching down, she undid the belt holding her sword and sheath and tossed them to the side. She then did the same with her chest plate, tossing it over in the same place. Syana stood in just her street clothes. She was about to start talking again before she held up a finger, bent over and pulled a knife out of her boot. Tossing it over with the rest, she stood back up. "Your first task is simple. I'm weaponless. I'm armorless. All you have to do is land a single punch on me. Easy enough, right? Go."
|
|
Loreley
Archer
A sailor lass with a powerful namesake from the Western Isles at the start of her adventures.
Posts: 72
Profession: Sailing Adventurer
Affinity: Fire
OoC Alias: Feldsky
|
Post by Loreley on Feb 10, 2016 20:56:56 GMT -6
Lore gathered up her things, and went to settle her account. She'd actually managed to put enough gold away before heading out on her soujourn across Elibe to where she hadn't had to worry about money yet. Still, it was an ever present pressure that was growing steadily closer as she watched her funds dwindle down. Looking for someone to get her into the mercenary business and get her accepted represented an investment, but she hoped it was a wise one, that would pay off for her.
"Coming." She said, hurrying out after Syana as she slung her quiver and bow over her shoulder. An assassin! She really had no idea what she was getting herself into.... They walked for a time, and Lore was tempted to let herself feel scared. To turn around and head back to town. She told herself that this was just another part of the training though. This wasn't Syana training her though. This was Loreley putting herself through her paces. If she wanted to harden up and not have to worry about looking for someone else to always save the day for her, well, this was the first step to toughening up.
"Ohhh....Why do I feel like I'm about to get my bum handed to me...." Loreley looked at Syana and grimaced. She wasn't one of the hot headed yahoos that ran the taverns at night, getting into brawls and fights. Oh, she'd been in plenty of them over the years traveling the ports around her home, but she'd spent most of them avoiding the fight. Sailing was enough to tone muscle, and her archery gave her a meaner punch than her most would think of a girl, but she wasn't the kind of thrill seeker that dove into a fight. She wanted to see things no one else had seen and tell tales that would inspire others.... Not crack jaws and crack her own knuckles.... But hey..., she was going to be a mercenary now.
Syana disarmed herself and Lore watched, a bit surprised when one more boot knife was tossed out to join the rest. Entering the clearing, she leaned her quiver and unstrung bow against a trunk, and dropped her own work knife out of her belt. She took a moment more to take a couple of straps of cloth and do them up around her hands, watching Syana as she did. She just knew this was going to hurt.
But that's not going to stop me, is it. Her expression hardened into determination, and she charged without a word, running at Syana quietly with a readied punch. Just before she got to the woman though, she pulled up short. She wasn't about to charge into the fight without taking a read of her reactions. She wasn't one of those Yahoos from the bars at port.
There was a moment's pause, and then she leapt in again, trying to sneak a quick punch in on Syana before she was ready. That was all she had to do to win here. She was a zealous fighter with a caution streak. They'd see how well that could do when matched up against a professional.
|
|
|
Post by Syana Flamberge on Feb 14, 2016 16:10:48 GMT -6
The smirk that had spent most of the night on Syana's face reappeared once again as Loreley said she felt as if she was about to get her butt handed to her. Nothing against this girl, but she was no Saturos. THAT had been a fight. This would be mostly dodging. There really was no reason for her to fight back, as she didn't want to hurt Lore. Plus, the challenge had been to hit her, not the other way around.
That didn't mean, however, that she wouldn't counter her. Nothing would give her a taste of a real fight like getting her attack blocked, grabbed, and thrown. Sure, it would hurt, but it would be a lesson. And in the end, wasn't that what teaching was all about? She watched as the girl wrapped her hands in cloth. She had never bothered with doing so herself, but to each their own.
Without warning, the girl charged. Something didn't seem right about it though. It was too straight forward for a girl who had displayed such intelligence earlier. It was most likely either a misdirect or a fake out to get a reaction. As such, Syana didn't even flinch as she got near. And sure enough, she pulled up short. It was a nice idea, a designed fake attack to see how she would defend, but a little too obvious. Plus, it showed that her next attack would most likely be the real one, allowing for her to defend it properly.
Lore moved again, throwing a quick punch. Once again, it was a good idea, as a good, quick punch could surprise an opponent. Unfortunately for the girl, this was not one of those times. Moving even quicker than Loreley, Syana reached up and caught her fist in midair. "Close. But not close enough."
|
|
Loreley
Archer
A sailor lass with a powerful namesake from the Western Isles at the start of her adventures.
Posts: 72
Profession: Sailing Adventurer
Affinity: Fire
OoC Alias: Feldsky
|
Post by Loreley on Feb 20, 2016 20:14:36 GMT -6
There was a moment of surprise when she felt her fist connect with something. It didn't feel like she hit something though. Syana had actually reached up and caught her hand? First, the woman hadn't even flinched at her false charge, and then she'd snagged her hand out of the air as it came in.... That was what she wanted to be able to do someday. She'd gotten the right teacher. She just had to do her part to follow through now.
"Close. But not close enough." That taunting voice, combined with the belief that this woman could take anything she could dish out and then some unlocked something in the islander. A fire lit behind her golden eyes in the clearing, and she stepped directly in to where Syana was, aiming to put herself right where the woman dressed in black was. She used the forward motion to drive forward some combination of push and punch with her free hand, while readying the hand Syana had for another punch. With her forward motion, she didn't even have to pull it back. Her own forward movement would put it into place.
What followed was a wild and quick flurry of strikes towards the head, arms, and body. None of them would have the striking power to lay someone out if they connected, but they would be felt, and they could be used to gain some momentum off. Lore wasn't a professional fighter and she'd avoided practicing barfights, but she did know how to show some real enthusiasm in physicality, whether in a happy setting, dancing across the tavern floor, or out on the sea by herself, fighting with the storm winds.
|
|
|
Post by Syana Flamberge on Feb 26, 2016 16:45:31 GMT -6
A small surge of pride swelled up in Syana as Loreley redoubled her effort. She had caught a punch or two before during training and it usually ended up with the person who threw the punch stunned and easily defeated. Lore, however, immediately began her next attack. She almost reminded Syana of a younger version of herself. Unfortunately for Lore, she had made sure she had solid footing before the girl had struck. As Lore tried to push her back, she dug in and held her ground. The girl was strong, but she was no Saturos.
Syana blocked the first punch that followed up the push and pushed the fist that she had caught before back towards Lore before she could try to pry it free. The girl wasn't deterred, however, as she followed that up with a combination of punches to various parts of her upper body. They were decent strikes, but there didn't seem to be much of tactic behind them. Syana was able to block most of them, though a few did require her to dodge out of the way. The last punch was so close to hitting her that she barely moved her head back in time.
She almost lost her balance with her sudden backwards motion, but she was able to turn it quickly into a backhand spring and land several feet back. At least now she knew Lore knew how to throw a pretty good punch. Now to see how she handled adversity. She jumped back a little more so that she was in the shadows of the surrounding trees. The smirk reappeared. "Very good. Now, let's see how you handle this." Syana began to focus and slowly faded into the shadows until there was no where to know where she was.
|
|
Loreley
Archer
A sailor lass with a powerful namesake from the Western Isles at the start of her adventures.
Posts: 72
Profession: Sailing Adventurer
Affinity: Fire
OoC Alias: Feldsky
|
Post by Loreley on Feb 27, 2016 21:37:47 GMT -6
If the islander had stopped to watch how the red headed swordswoman was blocking, she would have been impressed. If she'd stopped long enough watch how Syana slipped aside and twisted out of the way of every one of the punches that made it past the blocks, she would have been awed. Right then she was in the middle of something though: trying to hit this ghost in the dark who seemed to perfectly evade her strikes. Plenty of her attacks didn't even come close, but enough were almost connecting to drive her on to try even harder.
It was the evade and exit that shocked her out of her flurried assault though. Taker's Boots! Did she jus- She just did a backflip away from me! That was enough to remind her that even if she felt good about pushing Syana back... she had still failed absolutely at even touching her. And to top it off, Syana's evasion away from her made it apparent that she was outmatched. Again.
In the brief lull, Lore took stock of the situation. She was winded from her efforts, and clearly had to think of something better to manage a hit on Syana. Her opponent, on the other hand... The blond haired archer couldn't even tell if the woman was breathing hard. Who was this that had taken her job back in that little Bernese town?
"Very good. Now, let's see how you handle this."
Loreley's young face grimaced as she braced for a counter attack, but she became puzzled as the woman took a few steps back into the shadows under the trees. Her eyes widened and she gawked openly as Syana vanished in the darkness. One moment she'd been there, and the next, poof. Gone. Almost as if vanishing into mist. "Taker's Boots! Oh Hell!"
Vanishing people? Some of the legends from Wake spoke of people with amazing abilities, but if that was what she'd run into out here... she really was outmatched. She may have just been seeing things. It was dark and Syana was wearing black, so she could be mistaking it, but it had looked like she just disappeared.
"Alright Loreley. Think." She backed up and stood in the center of the clearing, looking around frantically for Syana. She was alarmed, and yet... and yet she still trusted the woman. This was still just a test. It just happened to be a test like none she'd ever faced before. She calmed a little as she realized that. She still had a problem though. She still had to get that hit in on Syana, and now she'd lost track of her. The woman said she was an assassin, so striking from hiding would be her specialty. Had they progressed that far? The red head hadn't even taken a swing at her yet. Would she start now?... Would she have to go into and under those shadows to find the woman in order to end this little matchup?
|
|
|
Post by Syana Flamberge on Mar 2, 2016 20:36:15 GMT -6
A grin was spread wide over Syana's face. Not even she could see it, but it was certainly there. She always got a kick out of doing that in front of someone for the first time, be it friend or foe. Friends would be shocked, but impressed. Foes... Well, let's just say most of them ran. She hadn't seen Saturos since she had got it down, so she was interested to see how he would react to it. Actually, knowing him, he probably act like nothing happened and be all 'I know you're still right there.' That was the one problem she had had with this skill so far. Moving. It certainly had a shock factor, but if they were able to get over it and investigate, they would discover she was still in the exact same spot, only invisible.
As it stood, however, she wouldn't need to worry about that right now. Loreley was taking a cautious approach and staying in the center of the clearing. Smart move, as normally Syana could attack from anywhere. Not that she would actually be attacking the girl. More seeing how she dealt with a situation under pressure. That didn't mean she wouldn't mess with her, however. Throwing her voice to her left, she spoke to Lore. "Yes, Loreley. Think. Evaluate. Where will I come from?" She refocused, this time having her voice come from the right. "Shall I come at you from here?" She stopped throwing her voice. It was something she could do, but it took more energy than it was worth most times. "Or perhaps from over here?" Syana said, now speaking normally. "Decisions, decisions."
|
|
Loreley
Archer
A sailor lass with a powerful namesake from the Western Isles at the start of her adventures.
Posts: 72
Profession: Sailing Adventurer
Affinity: Fire
OoC Alias: Feldsky
|
Post by Loreley on Mar 6, 2016 15:16:11 GMT -6
The night remained still as the tanned islander scanned under the treelines, biding time till the situation changed. She didn't expect that Syana would give herself away now that she was hidden, but neither was she willing to let the woman sneak up on her without at least trying to spot her.
The golden head whipped over towards Syana's voice, golden eyes trying to drink in as much light as they could in the evening light. The voice came again, from the other direction, and Loreley spun fists up and ready to dart out at a target that was just too elusive to follow. How had she gotten from one side to the other so fast? It was a game, and Syana played it very well. Lore would just have to learn how to play as well.
The sailor girl scanned the trees around them, shifting her gaze upwards. She was studying out their growth patterns. Here in Bern, they weren't the best for what she was looking for: Large spread branches that would make good enough paths for her. This was foolish, and she knew it, but she wasn't going to just wait in the middle of a clearing when she could move to grounds that she may have an advantage in.
"I hope you teach me to do that someday. For now though-" Lore bolted for the treeline towards a large looking tree trunk, and leapt just as she arrived at it, pushing off for one last bit of distance. Reaching up, with her arms, she snagged a smaller branch growing out of one of the larger branches from a tree and hauled herself up. As an archer and a sailor, she'd had plenty of time to gain strong arms and a lithe frame in her travels, and working up in the rigging of an unsteady boat or ship only helped her sense of balance. About ten feet up, Loreley crouched in a balance scanning the ground and the tree around her. This... didn't really favor the goal, she realized belatedly, so she stopped herself from going higher. She really didn't want to get knocked out of a tree. This seemed safest to her subconsciously though....
At least now she can't sneak up on me....
|
|
|
Post by Syana Flamberge on Mar 13, 2016 1:03:23 GMT -6
The girl had bravery, that was for sure. There was no denying that getting up into a tree would put Lore, as an archer, at an advantage. However, for her to risk running right at Syana to do so took some guts. Sure, it was stupid too, because it could have just as easily ended up with her on her back with Syana standing over her. But hey, it had worked out, so props to her. Now, the assassin had to figure out her counter move. She had seen exactly the tree that Loreley had disappeared into. And the lack of branch movement showed that she hadn't jumped from one tree to another. That meant she knew exactly where she was.
It was a good idea by Lore to get up into a vantage point. And it certainly let her see the entire clearing they had been in. But it was still nighttime. And the dark was Syana's domain. You could barely see a hand in front of your face outside of the clearing. So while Lore could see said clearly perfectly, the forest behind her would allow for Syana to get in position behind her.
Moving lightly around towards Loreley's tree, Syana's footfalls made no noticeable noise. If one were as trained in the art of stealth as she was, they might be able to pick up her steps. For one as inexperienced as Lore, however, she would near nothing until it was too late. Keeping her eyes fixed on the tree, the mercenary fell deeper back into the forest. Once she was behind the tree she knew Lore to be in, she made her way up her own tree. The poor girl. She almost felt bad doing this to her, but she had to learn. Picking her branches carefully, Syana moved silently from tree to tree until she was in the same one as Loreley, just several feet higher. Looking down, she spotted the girl's dark frame still scanning for her. Wrapping her legs around a branch and focusing her energy to her core, she lowered herself down until she was behind the archer. She leaned right next to the girl's head before lightly tapping on her head. "Boop."
|
|
Loreley
Archer
A sailor lass with a powerful namesake from the Western Isles at the start of her adventures.
Posts: 72
Profession: Sailing Adventurer
Affinity: Fire
OoC Alias: Feldsky
|
Post by Loreley on Mar 30, 2016 17:33:39 GMT -6
The first thing Loreley did after she gave her initial scan of the area was settle herself down. Being unsteady, and unprepared would do no good for her. She'd made it to the tree, which would make her other senses more useful than being on the simple ground would. The issue was it was still dark in the woods. There was a little light coming from the clearing, but not enough to penetrate far under the eaves of the trees. She waited a moment, letting her eyes adjust as she listened, then looked around and above her to get an idea of the layout of the branches. She was a skilled climber, but had never truly made the trees her home. She'd always preferred ships masts and rigging to the gnarly quirks of the woods. The experience still helped now though.
A few branches above, and some around her. Deeper into the woods the branches started to cross each other more, but also grew denser and were shadowed deeper. It'd probably be more trouble than it was worth to go deeper in... but she really did need to move.
A rustle in the leaves. The Sailor froze as her head darted back and forth, looking for the source of the sound A stick broke from the ground floor, and she peered towards it, watching and waiting for the invevitable appearance of her opponent. Her mind raced and her heart pounded as she tried to formulate some plan that'd get her in and able to score that hit successfully on Syana, but had little in mind other than trying to catch her off guard.... And so, when she felt something tap her on the head with a quiet "boop", she nearly jumped out of her skin.
"Yee-aaaahhh!" She shrieked tumbling to the side and almost sliding on the branch towards the narrower end. Instinctively, she bounced down with the branch and then sprang up and away from the "boop in the night" as the branch recoiled, reaching up and snagging a branch overhead and hauling herself up in a smooth motion. Eyes wide, she spotted signs of Syana in the night, and heart still hammering away in her chest, and then looked over at the sneaky woman and started choke out a laugh.
"How.... Whew... How did you do that? I didn't even hear you moving in the trees before you reached me?"
|
|
|
Post by Syana Flamberge on Apr 5, 2016 20:42:06 GMT -6
Syana almost fell out of the tree with laughter. She had expected Lore to jump a little, but nothing like that. Had the girl actually fallen from the tree, the assassin would have jumped down and caught her before she got hurt. But as she had prevented herself from falling, Syana felt free to let her laugh out.
Stopping to try to catch her breath, the redhead wiped a tear away from her eye. "Oh Loreley, I'm sorry, but that was funny." Shaking her head, she managed to calm herself down a bit. "It's part of the job. I mean, I wouldn't be a very good assassin if people could just hear me coming, would I? It took years to perfect my movement. You have to train yourself to notice everything around you. Leaves, sticks, brush. Figuring out which branches are the sturdiest and which will break under your weight. It was hard work, but worth it."
Taking a long sigh, Syana looked the girl over. "You did good, though. You didn't panic, you didn't do something stupid. Taking the high ground, so to speak, works well with your use of a bow. Had I been a bigger, louder opponent, you could have struck me down far before I got to you. Plus, you didn't wet yourself when I when I blended into the shadows. You'd be surprised how many big tough guys have actually done that." Ah, fond memories.
"In truth, I never expected you to actually hit me. That was your first test. You never gave up and showed promise." Syana smiled. "We'll make a mercenary out of you yet."
|
|