• Graded • In Our Spar(e) Time

[Darius Baer]

To the casual observer, this turnaround in fortunes might have come as something of a surprise. The fighter who had barely touched his opponent was now lifting him off his feet and tackling him to the ground. Qat, too, had presumably not expected this turn of events, or he might have found a way to evade it. But nobody was more surprised than Darius himself, whose shoulder had planted into his opponent's shoulder as he'd taken advantage of his larger frame.

The pair landed hard on the sand. Qat's body made for a hard pillow to soften Darius' own descent, and all of a sudden it was the smaller man who was on the defensive.

An air of adrenaline surged through Darius' body. There was a sense of exhilaration at knocking his opponent to the ground, though he did find that it was much harder to find purchase on the sandy ground from his new position.

The bearded blond didn't want to risk looking up to see what his opponent might be doing next. He wasn't sure how clean a fighter Qat was, and the last thing he needed was a face full of sand, so he kept his head close to his rival's torso and buried it against the man's chest as he put his body weight behind his shoulder in an attempt to keep him pinned.

This did, of course, also mean that he couldn't stop any attacks that were coming his way, but he hoped that by punching the smaller man's exposed sides - fists aiming to connect beneath the ribs - that he might not need to worry about any incoming strikes.

[Nir'wei]

His opponent had done a good job acting defensive and over-cautious. With his shoulder pressed hard to his chest and head tucked to the side, Nir's arms were still free, but pounding against his back did little; he couldn't muster the strength to deal any considerable blows, and there were no weak points to compensate for the lack of raw power. With the unrelenting pressure, he couldn't even suck in a full breath, nor find enough purchase to twist himself and deliver a stunning blow to the back of his head. Through either a stroke of good luck or simply patience waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike, he couldn't tell - but the fight had suddenly turned very one-sided. There simply wasn't any room left to do much more than wail on his back and hope that he could wear down Darius before being pummelled into submission himself. This was the real game of stamina!

Except, damn. Darius really knew where to hit. The first fist connected right under his ribs and aimed straight up, slamming the wind from his lungs as it stabbed deep into the tender spot. Prickles of tears formed in his eyes and he bit down hard enough to feel his teeth strain as he hid a feeble noise of pain - then knotted his fingers together and raised both hands high above his head, delivering a double-fisted overhead monkey-blow to the small of Darius' back, between the shoulderblades. Then again. Then again.

If this was a predator atop him, he'd likely already be gored. Then again, if this was a predator, he'd be leaning down and sinking his teeth into the back of the man's neck, not beating him with blunt strikes of his fist. For a moment, he actually considered it too - but through another bit of good luck on Darius' part, he was just high enough to prevent Nir from doubling over on himself and reaching with his fangs. Perhaps with a bit more flexibility, he could have managed. Maybe if he could force the man to slip down a little more. Since there was no way for Darius to protect himself in this position, he swallowed down a yelp as another fist slammed into his kidneys, and desperately threw another two-handed strike right down on the top of his head in the hope of disorienting him.

All the while his feet kicked in the sand, digging in his heels as far as they could go to find purchase. Maybe if he arched his back as high as it would go, he could loosen the hold just barely enough to break free. As long as Darius didn't get any more rib-bruising punches in before then. Damn it all, the crushing pressure combined with the strain on his lungs was making it difficult to even suck in a full breath before it was punched straight out again...

[Darius Baer]

The fight was not panning out as Darius had anticipated. Despite his size advantage over Qat, he had still expected hid opponent to be a wily warrior who knew a thing or two about combat.

Initially, he had feared that the fight would be an all too brief one - especially when he'd found himself on the wrong end of the man's wild volleys of punches - but his own desperate strategy of tackling his rival and pinning him against the sand seemed to be bearing fruit.

For now, anyway.

Darius alternated his punches from left to right, aiming for his opponent's sides with each strike. He knew the man was not simply going to lie back and take that sort of punishment without fighting back, so all he could hope for was to make the most of his advantage while it lasted. His knuckles buried themselves into the man's torso with each strike, but he soon felt pain in his back.

The bearded blond let out a grunt as he felt the impact, but he tried to ignore it, hoping that the adrenaline that was flooding his body would help to numb the pain. If he could just hold on long enough, he thought he might be able to force Qat to submit.

He hoped so, at least, because despite being in a dominant position and having become the aggressor, his body was weary and his punches were not being thrown with the same speed and ferocity as they had earlier, and he wouldn't be able to resist the hits to his back forever.

[Nir'wei]

Though he bore it as best as he could, for as long as he could - Nir'weis lungs soon began to strain from the sheer weight and force of Darius bearing down hard on his middle, beating again and again at the vulnerable points around his kidneys and under his ribs. He couldn't even protect himself with his elbows, nor strike in return at anywhere but Darius' back. Some might call it nothing more than another test of endurance, to see if he could outlast the barrage, except it didn't matter how much stamina he had. He needed air. Dark spots were beginning to float across his vision and the burn in his lungs was acute, almost as bad as the next punch that landed right in the sweet spot under his left rib and forced a pained wheeze from his lips. He couldn't. The moment he'd accepted it, Nir'wei fell limp under the man and began rapidly slapping at the ground with his open palm in a sign of defeat, until the man finally relented and eased the pressure off.

The moment it did, he sucked as deep a breath as his lungs could manage, and broke into an immediate coughing fit when the sudden excess of oxygen mixed with the dust of the fighting pit's ground in his chest. Dizziness and a small amount of nausea dominated his senses for a few seconds, before he pushed them both down and slowly rose back up to his knees. "Duhhh, don't... ffhah, ahh. Dun worry 'bouts... me. Yeh. Fah." He didn't need help, he just needed a moment to catch his breath again and let the sharp ache in his sides settle into the dull bruise that he could already feel coming.

"Shouldn't have got ahead of yourself," Cold said, with clearly a tone he thought was that of an advisor, but came off with much more of an 'I told you so' vibe.

"Oh shut up," he snapped back through their mental connection. "I was close. Wearing him down."

"And it might have worked, if you had a pack to support you," Cold countered. "The lone wolf, however, does not wear down its opponents over time, disabling them first and then dealing the killing blow. It hides in the shadows and bides its time, waiting for the perfect opportunity... as he did." Though the wolf existed as only a shadow within another world, Nir'wei could feel the gentle licks to his cheek through their mental bond while he finished catching his breath and stumbled back to his feet. "It was a good effort. But for now... I think you should stick to relying on your pack for just a little longer, young one."

Still clutching his side and fighting back the urge to wheeze, he offered Darius a weak smile. "That was well-done, my man. Aaaah... I'm going to be feeling that one for a while."

[Darius Baer]

Qat might not have known it, but Darius was beginning to tire. Despite being on top of his opponent and seemingly in control of the fights, his arm muscles were burning more and more with each strike. His upper arms and shoulders, in particular, wanted a rest.

But he could also sense that his opponent was struggling.

The fighter formerly known as Nir'wei Qat was pinned to the ground, after all, and Darius noticing the strength of the attacks against his back weakening, to the point that he barely noticed the hits at all.

That was all the encouragement the blond needed to continue. Sooner or later, his opponent would submit, and after a particularly sharp jap to the ribs, that was precisely what happened.

When the man slapped the ground in surrender, his palm causing small clouds of sandy dust to kick up into the air, Darius wasted no time in taking his weight off his body.

Unaware of the telepathic conversation Nir'wei was having, he offered his vanquished foe a hand up. But the man began choking instead, which sent Darius fumbling at his sides for his waterskin, which - of course - had been discarded when he had readied himself for their sparring.

As it turned out, such an offer would have been refused, for Qat was insistent on helping himself. Darius nodded silently at the realisation that the man's pride had been dented, and he guessed he had expected to fare better in their fight.

With that in mind, he decided not to recount the moment that had gifted him with an opportunity to strike, lest it only worsen his opponent's frustration. Rather, he decided to express gratitude instead.

"Aye, thank you," he nodded with a polite smile. "I got lucky. I'll have some bruises of my own, I'm sure."

He reached a hand out to shake, then set about cleaning sand and dust off himself before gathering his items and making his way home, where he could run a hot bath to ease his aches and pains.

[Doran]

Darius:

Knowledge:
Skill Knowledge:
Acrobatics: Finding purchase on a sandy surface.
Combat: Unarmed: Size does matter.
Combat: Unarmed: Throw your weight around.
Combat: Unarmed: Using different fighting styles can give you an edge.
Combat: Unarmed: Stay beyond your opponent's reach.
Discipline: Maintain your position, even under duress.
Endurance: Resisting a sustained assault.
Etiquette: Accept an opponent's surrender.
Negotiation: A parley before combat can set the terms.
Strength: Outmuscle a rival.
Tactics: Don't overestimate your abilities.
Tactics: Don't underestimate your opposition.
Tactics: Wait for the opportune moment to strike.

Non-Skill Knowledge:
Qat (Nir'wei): Is a skilled fighter.
Qat (Nir'wei): Can be lured into a false sense of security.
Location: Scalvoris Town: The Proving Ground

Loot: -
Lost: -
Wealth: -
Injuries: -
Renown: 5, for winning a spar.
Magic XP: -
Skill Review: Appropriate to level.
Points: 15

Nir'wei:

Knowledge:
Detection x3
Endurance x2
Strength x3
Combat: Unarmed x4

Loot: -
Lost: -
Wealth: -
Injuries: -
Renown: 5, for a spar.
Magic XP: -
Skill Review: Appropriate to level.
Points: 15

- - -

Comments: A sparring session! I always enjoy those!

I have to admit, I was a bit confused by Silk at first because I had no idea why she had arms and a tail and had to look her up. It makes sense for an Ithecal to have arms and a tail though!

Anyway, I found it interesting how differently Nir’wei and Darius prepared for the fight (or didn’t prepare, in Nir’wei’s case), and I was surprised by Nir’wei’s admission that he had never done this before!

I had not expected this!

I appreciate that warming up played such an important part in this thread here as it seems to be something that is frequently not RPed out. The fight itself was very easy to follow and entertaining to read.

When I read the review request, I was convinced that Nir’wei would win because of his superior skills, so I was surprised when I read the thread and realized that he hadn't.

That was great!

I found Nirwei’s unique struggles (fighting like a human and treating the fight like a game of chess, among other things) very interesting to read, and it make sense to me that Darius’ greater height and weight gave him an advantage and that he ultimately won the fight.

With that being said, congratulations on a good fight, and enjoy your rewards!