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Post by prythian on Jul 24, 2010 14:05:06 GMT -5
In the uncharacteristically-empty Struggle arena, a lone soul walked about.
Malthus had been wandering, and for some reason had been drawn to this place, somehow abandoned right at the time that he had felt like solitude. "I just... don't know what to do." He said to the open sky, as he walked on.
"Oof!" He tripped over something, wincing. As he got up, he reached back and picked it up.
It was a Struggle Bat.
As Malthus stared at it, into his mind flashed an image of someone holding a bat exactly like this... the bully from his nightmares. He grit his teeth, preparing to toss away the bat angrily, and then paused as another couple of images flashed into his mind.
Seifer, holding a similar bat.
Seifer, apologizing to him and offering him help if he needed it.
Malthus sighed, lowering his arm. "What am I doing?" He asked the sky once more. "I've spent my entire life deceiving, manipulating, and stealing... have I let one small group of people ruin my life so thoroughly? It's not the bat... it's the person holding it."
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Post by mrcrazycakes on Jul 24, 2010 14:21:26 GMT -5
Though Malthus thought the Struggle arena was empty, it wasn't quite as abandoned as he thought. Who else but Seifer would be there, anyways? He'd noticed the place had been empty when he'd finished practicing with the usual blue foam bat instead of his own wooden replica, so he figured he way as well take advantage of the quiet and relax a bit. From the position of the bench Seifer was on, it wasn't much a surprise that he hadn't been seen, and his eyes were occupied with a book on fencing he'd borrowed from the library. He hadn't known there was anyone else there until Malthus suddenly started talking out of nowhere. He'd been using that bat himself earlier.
"Geeze, you need to look around more before you start saying stuff like that," Seifer commented, rolling his eyes. "You're the last person I'd expect to find hangin' around the Struggle arena. Thought about my deal any more?"
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Post by prythian on Jul 24, 2010 14:30:34 GMT -5
Malthus turned, and mentally slapped himself for not noticing the Struggle fighter. He was ordinarily not that quiet. Malthus had been as stupid as he normally pretended to be. "...Yeah. Actually, I have." He looked away again, pursing his lips. "I... I don't think I could accept charity, but... if you had work for me to do, I could try to earn it." He was amazed at his own sincerity. "Why do you Struggle?" Malthus asked, abruptly changing the subject, looking at the bat he held in his hands.
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Post by mrcrazycakes on Jul 24, 2010 14:50:35 GMT -5
"Work to do? Eh, I guess I could think of something for you to do," Seifer said, shrugging. The only thing he could think of was a sparring partner so he could get the hang of fighting better than he currently did. He raised an eyebrow when Malthus asked why he participated, then his look of question turned to a fierce, confident grin. "Why do I participate in the Struggle tournament? That's just training for my dream! I'm gonna be a hero one day, and what sort of hero doesn't know how to fight? Struggle is the only way I can really practice fighting without hurting anybody while I'm doing it. I think of it as... eh... what's the word I'm looking for... I see it as sorta a testing ground where folks won't get hurt much worse than bruises if I swing too hard by mistake."
Seifer thought a bout it a bit more, then nodded and continued. "But everyone's got their different reasons for joining the tournament. That's a weird question; is hat really the best subject changer you could come up with? Asking about my scar probably would'a worked better," He finished off, indicating to the scar ever visible between his eyes, not looking too impressed.
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Post by prythian on Jul 24, 2010 14:55:40 GMT -5
Malthus considered this answer. "Here, catch." He tossed him the Struggle bat. "I think the only way I'll fully understand your answer is if I can fight you. I may not have one of the bats, but if I pull my punches, it should amount to the same thing. What say you? First to five hits wins?" It would probably seem odd to Seifer. Not just the challenge, but the way Malthus was acting and even looking. His dumb persona had been completely dropped. For one of the first times Seifer would have known, he'd see true intelligence shine on Malthus's face.
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Post by mrcrazycakes on Jul 24, 2010 15:09:06 GMT -5
Seifer caught the bat and raised an eyebrow again. "A fight, huh? ... You SURE you wanna do that? The way you put your little story a couple of days ago sounded kinda traumatic," He asked, tapping the blue foam of the bat against his shoulder like he did with whatever weapon he was using at the time. "Well, if you insist, I'll be glad to give you a fight!"
Seifer switched the struggle bat to his right hand and took the sideways fighting stance he was characterized by, the bat pointing at Malthus and at the ready. "Sure you're not gonna go psycho?"
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Post by prythian on Jul 24, 2010 15:16:20 GMT -5
Malthus grit his teeth. "As sure as I can be." Which was to say, not at all. All he had was the feeling that this was something that he had to do. He got into a fighting stance much like Seifer did, only crouching down and relaxing. Or at least, trying to relax. He had a feeling that his normal gracefulness in battle wouldn't be as good as it normally was. The hairs on the back of his neck raised. [hp=5/5] |
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Post by mrcrazycakes on Jul 24, 2010 15:25:34 GMT -5
Well, this would be interesting if nothing else. Seifer's grin was replaced by a serious look an instant before he charged forward, swinging the foam bat in an upward arc and following up with a quick thrust before jumping back a bit. "I'm not gonna go easy on you just because it's your first time, so get ready!" [hp=5/5] |
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Post by prythian on Jul 24, 2010 15:35:33 GMT -5
Malthus tucked and Advanced Dodge Rolled away from the first blow, barely avoiding the second. He countered with a quick kick towards Seifer's side, before darting away out of normal melee range again. "I may not have Struggled before, but fighting I know well. Going easy on me... isn't an option for you!" He explained. He got into a fighting stance, ready for the next attack.
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Post by mrcrazycakes on Jul 24, 2010 15:51:51 GMT -5
Seifer used his own Dodge Roll to avoid Malthus's kick, coming up from the roll and jumping into the air, darting downwards in his signature strike, Rough Divide. After the strike, Seifer took a defensive stance, waiting for Malthus to attack so he could preform a counter strike. [Recap; Dodge Roll x Rough Divide x Prepared guard Just to clarify, each hit does one; it's not coming from our HP (is more stating this for his own peace of mind)] [hp=5/5] |
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Post by prythian on Jul 24, 2010 16:01:02 GMT -5
Rough Divide landed, and Malthus grimaced as the blow knocked him down to the ground, him retaliating with a kick at the last minute, landing on Seifer's arm. They were still even in terms of the contest, and he got back up, focusing intently. There had to be some way to turn the contest into his favor rather than an even match. Then a thought occurred to him. Something unexpected to even the odds. He jumped at Seifer. [hp=4/5] |
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Post by mrcrazycakes on Jul 24, 2010 16:18:35 GMT -5
Seifer jabbed his struggle bat at Malthus as the boy came forward, pulling a horizontal swing afterwords in an attempt to hit Malthus if the first strike didn't connect. He used an Advanced Jump Boost to put some distance between himself and Malthus, preparing a defense to counter whatever strike the boy sent at him. [Recap; Attack x Attack x Advanced Jump Boost x Prepared counter] [hp=4/5] |
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Post by prythian on Jul 24, 2010 16:41:04 GMT -5
An Aerial Dodge quickly netted the first strike to be completely useless, and a single strike knocked back Seifer's second one, although it smarted and didn't allow Malthus to make a hit himself as he landed on the ground. Fighting without using his knives was more difficult than he anticipated, and he had to fight going into a berserker rage and simply ignoring hits to get many more in. Wait a second. He was a fool. The guideline to winning this battle wasn't how much damage you took. It was how many HITS you managed to get it. Even if he got hit hard, it would be worth it if he could get more in! He rushed forwards, and when he got within range, struck twice at the prepared Seifer. [hp=4/5] |
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Post by mrcrazycakes on Jul 24, 2010 17:21:55 GMT -5
Seifer's prepared guard blocked one of the blows, and was quickly transformed into a quick combo attack; an upwards diagonal slash, followed by a downward slash, a vertical swipe and ending with a quick jab. If the whole combo hit, that would be all of Malthus's points; if they didn't, he'd just have to try again. "Looks like you figured out what the game's about," Seifer commented, returning to his normal combat stance. [Recap; Counter x Attack x Attack x Attack] [hp=3/5] |
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Post by prythian on Jul 24, 2010 17:28:48 GMT -5
The Counter struck him, but he wasn't there for the second or third blows, using two quick Dodge Rolls to get around to the back of Seifer, where he retaliated with a quick one-two punch. If one of them landed, the other would likely land as well, and with the speed he'd rolled, it was highly unlikely Seifer would manage to dodge either of them. [Recap; Advanced Dodge Roll x Advanced Dodge Roll x Attack x Attack] [hp=3/5] |
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