Kiko stepped away from him. She did have light feet, and while she could not command the stealth of the wolf form, she was well aware of what sounds might give her away. All her armor was light and muffled by the silk of her kimono. Her weapons were tucked into boots, sheaths, clothing, and while loose; did not rattle.
The grass was high, which silenced her feet, and Dominic's as well. There was no real breeze, so whatever sound she might make brushing past the grass could be noticeable. If you could separate it from the other sounds, she would have to deal with that.
As for tracking him, she was not counting on his movements to keep his position fixed. At least, not right now. She was listening to the scatter of birds. They were all over the trees around the meadow and their eyes could spot him for her. She hoped.
Eternity
“Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench.”
Dominic [M:123:1420:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=382&page=1#14144][b]Let me tell you a story...[/b][0:No encore today][1:You have my attention]
Dom hadn't moved, he'd been thinking frantically, trying to work out an angle to get an advantage. They were standing in an open field, one that they both had a relatively good handle on. What did he know? He heard her moving away, knowing he'd have trouble tracking her. Then a barainwave hit him, but he had to act fast before she got more than a couple of feet away.
He suddenly stuck his fingers in his ears, took the deepest breath he could and put every shred of vocal power he had into singing, and holding, the highest and most piercing note in his register. It was loud, it was painfully, ear splittingly loud, and it was coming from maybe five feet away. Oh he'd not do any damage that way, but it would hopefully disorient, or disrupt her ability to hear properly for a moment.
As soon as he'd expended himself he loped off to his left, sweeping his staff before him to ensure he had a clear path. Not quiet, but the quickest way to cover ground without tripping. Then he stopped, controlling his breathing again, hoping she'd been suitably deafened. Another practical upshot was that all the birds had taken wing, fluttering madly from their perches.
Love, like Hope, has too few letters for a word so powerful.
Kiko cringed and dropped her head into her hands. Kamanari, that sound would shatter ear drums in a closed environment. She came to a halt, shaking her head and trying to recover her wits. Well, there went any hope of keeping track of him by other means. She had heard the birds take wing, too. She could hardly blame them. Her ears still throbbed painfully.
Her lips narrowed down to a thin line. If Dominic thought sound would deter her he was wrong. Yes, it hurt. Yes, it disoriented. And yes, it blew her strategy quite literally out of the meadow. Nevertheless, she would find him. Kiko had spent the better part of five months when she was ten years old trying to swim the length of an icy lake. There was not a day that went by when it did not hurt. Each new swim was an exercise against pain. Her grandfather had promised to teach her the sword, when, and only when; she could swim the length. Anything less would not satisfy him.
She ignored the disorientation, much like she had the pain in her chest and limbs years ago when swimming. Kiko focused on what she knew. Dominic had been behind her. He was not fast enough, on his own, to have gotten past her. Which meant if she turned around he would be there - somewhere. He would have moved, naturally after the ear piercing sound - somewhere. Somewhere was a damn large amount of empty space. But, she knew he wasn't in front of her. She would just have to be methodical and narrow it down.
Eternity
“Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench.”
Dominic [M:123:1420:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=382&page=1#14144][b]Let me tell you a story...[/b][0:No encore today][1:You have my attention]
Dom stopped after a few steps. He then decided to use a tactic that had at least a moderate chance of success. Orienting toward where he last knew Kiko had been he began stepping slowly in a circle, trying to wind around her position and keep her roughly in front of him, though he didn't know where. He was pretty sure of the ground being even enough for him to step slowly so he could use his staff as a weapon only.
He held it out in front of him at the horizontal, sweeping it quietly left to right. He kept his ears open for sounds to give him more targeting ability, though he wasn't getting anything right now. He just had to hope that his staff would touch her before she detected him and allow him to strike. He'd have the advantage, but he was pretty sure that her reflexes would be razor sharp. It was quite the gamble.
Love, like Hope, has too few letters for a word so powerful.
Kiko remained perfectly still and cut out all the distractions one by one. She let inhales and exhales flow out of her mouth until she could feel the chilly air deep in her lungs. No sound had given Dominic away so far, but she was in step with the world around her always. She knew which way the birds had gone, she knew where the trees were just by absence of sound, and she knew the ground beneath her feet was solid.
Her ears had stopped ringing. The hackles on the back of her neck started to tingle. Kiko held her breath. She did not need her eyes; not for this, the blindfold had honestly helped her focus. Without the dizzying visuals to sort through she had regained her sense of hearing much quicker than she would have thought possible. A faint whip of sound grew louder and she knew where it came from, Dominic was using his staff to sweep the tall grass for her.
Kiko counted the seconds in her head and with the next sweep of sound her fingers shot out where she expected Dominic's staff to be.
Eternity
“Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench.”
Dominic [M:123:1420:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=382&page=1#14144][b]Let me tell you a story...[/b][0:No encore today][1:You have my attention]
Dom walked into the trap, so to speak, his staff coming into her hand. Her one hand. His reflexes weren't as sharp as hers but she had one hand on his staff at one end and he had both hands at the other.
He whipped the other end round, using her own wrist as a pivot, pushing with both hands. He concentrated on speed rather than power, just wanting to tag her on the noggin and give her a shock. Her staff would probably be tucked up under her arm, out of the way and too far away for a counterattack. If that was the case, and if he hit her, and if it was enough to stun her he might be able to follow up with another strike to the backs of her legs and put her down again.
That, he had to concede, was a hell of a lot of ifs.
Love, like Hope, has too few letters for a word so powerful.
Kiko did not have a staff to counter him. She had not bothered to retrieve it. After the first attack she did not plan to use it, either. No, she had reached out for his only to make sure of what she had heard. She knew where he was now, too. Kiko climbed right up his front leg. She used his knee and his thigh to vault over his shoulder and land behind him.
Or, she would have - without the blindfold. She had excellent footing and agility, she knew where he was, but what she attempted needed vision. Kiko made it past his knee fine, but by the time she hit his thigh her feet were already trying to compensate for lack of traction.
She was out of time.
Dominic's staff collided with her hip, throwing her into the grass with a thud. A muffled curse came from her, too. Something in a language far away from Wistvale.
Eternity
“Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench.”
Dominic [M:123:1420:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=382&page=1#14144][b]Let me tell you a story...[/b][0:No encore today][1:You have my attention]
Dom was grinning all over his face when he went to strike but when the foot planted on his knee he almost fell over from pure surprise. It all seemed to happen in slow motion. The movement of the girl didn't feel right, her foot slipping on his leg, the second step also unsteady. He'd been leaning into the strike so wasn't simply bowled over, but he wasn't steady.
His staff hit and she thumped down beside him as he staggered backward, taking big steps to try and steady himself. He jammed his staff into the ground, each step sending his heart into his throat as he fought for balance. Nothing tripped him, thankfully, but he wasn't quick enough to reoirent himself even as she swore.
He turned to where the expletive had come from and said in a tone that he tried to make nonchalant, but carried the shake and breathiness of adrenaline hyped exertion. "You know it isn't polite to insinuate that about someone's mother." He finished the sentence off with a jovial term of endearment in her own tongue, something that a sibling may call a younger sister. It was all the gloat he'd allow himself as his legs and arms hurt again.
Love, like Hope, has too few letters for a word so powerful.
Kiko shoved her hands up the sides of her skull stiffly, remembering at the last minute to avoid the blindfold. Her fingers fisted up at her forehead, as well. She dug her thumbs into the softer skin at her temples. Kiko wasn't hurt; unless you counted pride, but frustrated by the lack of coordination. Hence the curse.
Her eyelashes flew open when Dominic spoke. She did not reply. She had forgotten he could understand the language. Why? Hell, it was what caught her attention in the tavern. Kiko stood up much slower than she had gone done. He was breathing faster. She could hear it in his words. Of course, so was she. He had not taken advantage of her crash into the ground, either.
Was he being brotherly, as his words suggested? It was a bad tactic if so, he could not afford it on the road, especially in this area. There were way too many miscreants with bad attitudes and even worse agendas. That was only counting the regulars, too. Pay attention Kiko, he has had enough time to recover his breath, and he still has a staff.
Eternity
“Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench.”
Dominic [M:123:1420:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=382&page=1#14144][b]Let me tell you a story...[/b][0:No encore today][1:You have my attention]
Dom was trying to gather himself as quickly as possible. He'd never been leapt upon quite so viscerally before and it had shaken him. Adrenaline in ammounts he was unused to was thudding through his system with every squeeze of his heart. His hands felt hot and clammy as he gripped the staff and he mentally went through his body, trying to force his tightened muscles to uncoil.
He'd scored a hit and put her on the floor and, since no length of wood had even touched him, she'd lost her staff. The reasons he wasn't pressing the advantage were manifold. He considered it overkill to keep attacking in a sparring match. He assumed that if he'd put her on the floor the logical conclusion was that he'd be able to finish her off if so inclinned. He considered that a moment more. Maybe not, but he still didn't feel right attacking her when she was down.
Further to that, the shock of being jumped on and not getting his head torn off had distracted him enough that, even with her cursing, he couldn't pinpoint her clearly enough to make an accurate swing. He could swipe his staff in her general direction but if he did that enough times she'd probably be able to hear it coming, intercept it and disarm him consumately.
Lastly he didn't trust himself. He didn't want to actually injure her, since she'd been kind enough to help him train. He'd been taught to strike with speed and power and had never used any of his ground attack manouvres on anyone he didn't intend to put down. In fact he'd only ever used it once, screaming as he did. He shuddered at that memory. He didn't feel he had the skill to control an attack like that in a manner that it would come in with the speed and ferocity of a real swing, but not the lethal power.
So he stood, listening again, took up his ready position and kept himself oriented in the direction her voice had come from.
Kiko's spine tingled sharply. The hackles on the back of her neck were standing straight up. He was close, mere heartbeats away. She could feel it. If he had dropped back at all, it wasn't by much. Still, he had the advantage of reach.
Her nose flared. The sense of smell was so dull compared to her nose as the wolf. Kiko's mouth curled up. The wolf would have already had him on the ground. But, that was not the point of this little altercation and she was through being tentative. He had not attacked, maybe that had nothing to do with being brotherly at all. Maybe he was still off balance.
Kiko's upper body dropped over. She threw her left leg out, the bottom of her foot horizontal and thrust at where she expected his abdomen to be based on the earlier vault over his knee. It might land. It might not. But, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Eternity
“Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench.”
Dominic [M:123:1420:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=382&page=1#14144][b]Let me tell you a story...[/b][0:No encore today][1:You have my attention]
He'd not expected her to be so accurate with the voluntary sight impairment, but perhaps her combat experience was helping her, or perhaps she truly was that much better without handling a polearm.
Either way her kick hit him just below his abdomen, in his right hip. Not absolutely spot on, and she was a bit farther away than necessary to get full power into it but Dom fancied he heard his hip joint pop in protest as she kicked it. His whole right leg exploded into painful tingles and he was spun around, stepping wide to try and steady himelf. He went down on one knee, his right, but at least he knew where she was now.
He swung his staff in a horizontal arc at the height her kick came from, able to put plenty of control into it now he was in a stable position, though pretty much immobile until he regained his feet. Even so, putting pressure on his right leg as he swung, even at the knee, made his hip ache horribly.
He'd have said he hated fighting, though it was more getting beaten up that he despised.
Love, like Hope, has too few letters for a word so powerful.
Kiko snapped upright in time to hear the air whistle past Dominic's staff. A wolfish smile spread across her face and she twisted quickly to one side. Both hands came straight out from her waist this time around, too. She stopped the smack of the staff with her palms, completely ignoring the flare of pain that occurred when it hit.
Kiko took possession of Dominic's staff for a second and no longer. She flung herself over the slender piece of wood head first. She used it like a child would, cartwheeling over to land on her feet. Kiko was starting to like this exercise. Once she forgot about having to see it was all trusting her body to make the right moves.
She had heard her grandfather say that your eyes could play tricks on you several times. She had believed him. Strange that she would learn it again here - from a blind man. She shook her head.
Had enough Bard?
She shouldn't give away her position, but catching the staff had left her a little reckless.
Eternity
“Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench.”
Dominic [M:123:1420:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=382&page=1#14144][b]Let me tell you a story...[/b][0:No encore today][1:You have my attention]
Dom didn't exactly know what she'd done, but had felt the impact and allowed himself a quick smile, but it was short lved. There was no exclamation of pain, just a downward pressure on his weapon. He expected it to be taken from him, and was thoroughly surprised that it hadn't been.
So she was disarmed, which wasn't exactly a huge disadvantage it would seem, but it did still give him a reach advantage. Of course he wouldn't ususally be able to make best use of it. Thrusting attacks needed accurate information on enemy position and distance to be effective.
Of course she'd allowed him to feel where she'd been moving during the vault, he'd heard her land and then he heard her voice from less than a handful of feet away, loud and clear. Bad move. He responded in a murmur through gritted, grinning teeth. "Nope."
He began thrusting the tip of his staff at a point about a foot below where her voice had been, rapid jabs of the polearm. Not overly powerful, but quick enough that she'd hopefully have trouble trying to stop them or dispossess him of his weapon. And if one suddenly didn't connect? He'd just start swinging to the side.
Kiko's mouth broke open on a grunt of pain. The first, second, and third jabs went past but the fourth had hit her chest - dead center - and stole several seconds of breath. She clamped her mouth shut and threw her body sideways. Still, the fifth jab caught her shoulder with a glancing blow and spun her back inward.
Her hands came up to defend her face, palms held vertically and slightly apart to shove the staff away. She could react to the swings, the jabs were not quite so easy. They were fast for one, giving her no time to plan an attack. If he kept these up she'd go down, sooner or later.
Unless...
Kiko remained stationary and barely a few feet from the Bard's punching staff. Dominic's jabs were sure to score again and when they did she had a surprise in store.
Eternity
“Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench.”