Closed RP - More than one way to spar

[maid_brienne]

It was late afternoon when Brienne made her way out to the forest, Oathkeeper strapped to her hip, having spent the better part of the last couple of days cleaning everything--it turned out butter and salt were hard to get out of boiled leather. Who knew? (It occurred to Brienne that maybe there was some sort of cleansing spell that would have

Comments

[last_akkadian]

Mathayus was on his way back from the stables, where he had been insuring Camel's comfort with a few rubies and some stern words with the house elves. He'd satisfied himself that she would have everything she needed - even gruff as he'd been, it was clear to him that the house-elves were both kind and skilled, if a bit timid. He grinned to himself. Camel was smart - she'd soon have those elves trained to perfection. Look how well she'd trained that thief, Arpid

[last_akkadian]

"No?" Ignoring his wound for the time being, Mathayus stabbed his sword into the soft ground and gave a prodigious leap, grabbing at a branch one-armed and pulling himself by brute force. "I don't hurt kids," he hollered back over his shoulder for Brienne's benefit, climbing one-handed up to Arya's perch. "Been known to spank 'em, though." He pointed at the girl. "Down."

[maid_brienne]

"Well, even that isn't anyof your business," Brienne retorted hotly. She remained at the foot of the tree, hesitant about climbing up after him lest the branches be unable to bear both of their weights. "She wasn't doing any harm!"

[runaway_stark]

Arya had scrambled back to just beyond arm's reach of him. "If you hit me, I'll hit you back," she warned. "With the pointy part."

[last_akkadian]

Mathayus looked down at Brienne. "Not my business? My arm says otherwise." He glanced over at the girl, dark eyes not unsympathetic. "I'm not gonna hit you, kid." He checked his bicep, which was now bleeding freely, dripping off his elbow. "Dammit. Come on, whatever your name is. Get down before I fall down." His voice had softened considerably - Mathayus had a soft spot for kids.

[maid_brienne]

Brienne briefly considered the benefits of banging her head against another nearby tree, but reasoned that wouldn't help. Instead, she moved a few steps away, keeping half an eye on the tree, and began divesting herself of her armor. She wasn't an expert at first aid, but the man needed something to staunch the bleeding, and the only thing that came readily to mind were a few jagged strips of cloth from the shirt she was wearing, which she began methodically tearing off until she had what she thought might be a suitable tourniquette.

[runaway_stark]

Arya backed up a bit more. He was acting friendlier now, but after years running from the Lannisters she didn't trust easily anymore. But she was reasonably sure that if he tried anything she could count on Brienne to at least provide a distraction. Though Arya was more likely to use the distraction to stab him in the kidneys than escape.

She kept her eyes on him while she made her way down, dropping the last several feet and landing in a crouch, and made sure to keep the tree's trunk between herself and him. "I'm Arya," she said.

[last_akkadian]

Mathayus levered himself closer to the ground with his good arm, then dropped the rest of the way, landing heavily. "Mathayus," he replied to Arya's introduction, dusting off forest detritus. "You should know better than to interfere in a spar, kid. What if I'd had my throwing daggers with me? Somebody could have gotten badly hurt." He looked the girl over. "You look like a fighter yourself - this is basic stuff for any warrior. Keep your temper. Use your anger, focus it, but don't let it trap you into doing something stupid. Lady Brienne will back me up on this, I'm su --" He got a good look at Brienne and just how much of her was showing. "What are you doing?"

[maid_brienne]

"Stand still." Brienne had rejoined the others, a few dangling strips of cloth in her hand. "Let me see that arm. You need to stop the bleeding, and you should probably see someone in the hospital wing. Here, let me see it." She was uncomfortable without the security of her armor, but she was good at ignoring discomfort, and she felt guilty about causing him injury in the first place. It was only a moment later that she realized he'd actually used her name, and she felt a surge of triumph at that concession, at least.

[runaway_stark]

"Why? It's not like anyone can die here." She sounded very angry and disappointed about that. "And you didn't have knives on you, I was watching." She didn't look remarkably concerned about the blood. She'd seen much worse. "And I am a fighter. The former first sword of Braavos taught me."

[last_akkadian]

Mathayus snorted. "Then you should know better," he said to the girl. "You should also be able to tell when somebody is using words to make you lose your focus; then you can learn to ignore them and concentrate on defeating your enemy." It was unclear exactly to whom he was addressing this last speech; Mathayus merely smiled his thanks at Brienne when she finished wrapping his arm and went to gather his winter robes.

"Oh." He paused and half-turned back to them, reaching to his boot and pulling out a large hunting knife. "Watch closer next time," he said to Arya with a toothy grin. "It's not a thrower; doesn't mean I can't throw it." He raised a couple of fingers in salute to Brienne and headed back toward the castle.