Training with Cheekbones (private)

Still distrustful of people and himself, Psyre wasn't going to pass up on a chance to spend more time with and learn from Cheekbones. Hmm. Maybe Cheeky was better..? That way he got at the facial structure and the personality. "Hey, Cheekbones! I'm changing your name. It's Cheeky now. Much better suited." Psyre had a broad grin on his face as they approached the training grounds. "Okay, Cheeky, let's see what we've got. What do you say, melee only or can we use spells?"

Cheeky, he could get used to it. He chuckled, Raven Locks fit right into his whole 'nickname' thing.

"Whatever you say, Greenie." Cedric twirled his staff around him absentmindedly, getting a feel for it's weight and ability.

Cedric agreed to train with him, not only wanting to spend more time with Psyre but also wanting him to be able to protect himself in case he ran into trouble.

"What do you say, melee only or can we use spells?"

Cedric thought about this, he should practice his spells as well, practice them in an active environment. Cedric himself wasn't big on spells, they weren't exactly sneaky but they were still a good thing to know how to use correctly.

"Spells and melee," Cedric felt himself grin. "As long as you don't cast a love spell, you already got me where you want me, Stud."

Ah, how Cedric loved training.

Psyre couldn't stop smiling. Time with Cedric was better than just about anything else. Cheeky gave him hope and reassured him that he wasn't terrible and that humankind did not only consist of horrid people. And he was funny. What more could you want?

Psyre couldn't help but notice that Cedric didn't seem extremely familiar with his quarterstaff, which was rather shocking. Cheeky clearly how to handle himself. Did he not normally use a staff? Psyre pushed it aside. One of the first things he had learned in his training was how to focus on the fight. It was simple, but also vital.

Psyre walked fifteen feet away from Cedric, grabbed the other end of his quarterstaff (holding it with hands, each approximately 1.5 feet away from the respective ends), and said, "Ready?" Psyre then blew out a long breath, drew in a deep one, and lowered his stance.

Cedric watched amused as Psyre smiled, he truly enjoyed making others happy. Rowena wasn't much for training, she didn't like to see him when he was anything close to being his assassin self. Cedric could understand, even though he was sure to stay in his regular state of mind while training. He forced himself out of his thoughts when he heard Boy Next Door's voice.

"Ready?"

Cedric smiled.

"As always,"

He quickly got into formation, now familiar with the forgotten motions. It had been a long time since he had fought with a staff (not the best for cutting throats or for sneaking up on people, he had learned that the hard way), but now he was ready.

Cedric moved his feet to be slighter wider than shoulder width apart, moving his right foot forward. He allowed his left hand to grip the base of his staff, and his right to move about a quarter way up it. He made himself relax, to trust his instincts.

He had to put this boy to the test. He knew full well Wonder Boy would be a challenge, but he needed to train him in the art he was familiar with. He needed to make sure he'd be ready for anything.

"Your call."

Psyre was right. Cheeky held the staff like it was a two-handed sword. It allowed for more power, but reduced one's ability to strike with both ends of the staff. Though, to be honest, Psyre didn't think he could block an attack from someone as strong and fast as Cheeky. Especially not while he was using both hands for strong swings. Psyre opened his left hand so that his palm was flat against his staff and said, "Best of luck, Ced. Let's be sure to not hurt each other." Even as he said it, though, his hand slipped under the staff and he loosed a Lesser Disruption at Cheeky's shins. (OOC: 200 AP total - 50 from Lesser Disruption = 150 remaining. Attack's speed is 200 ft/s, so requirement to dodge would be 600 dex. Because the attack is aimed at the legs, I would assume that it does less damage than the normal 60...?) Even as the blast shot out, Psyre shifted his grip so that he was holding the staff like a spear and charged forward, stopping five feet in front of Cheeky with a long thrust at his chest. (Sprint speed of 18 ft/s, covering 10 ft, takes .5555 seconds to cover that distance. Dunno if that matters, but trying to be clear. Also, because the weapon is held in two hands, there won't be a penalty to movement speed on the next post for using it as a reach weapon. If the hit connects, it will do 49 damage (15 base + 14 strength + 20 dex (low scaling of each).)

Cedric heard the boy wish him luck, and he smiled, carefully watching his body language.

He's moving his hand under the staff, not enough space between before it hits.

Cedric's body complied, taking the hit to his legs, quickly jumping out of the way as Psyre charged with his staff. Moving two feet out of the way, his legs slightly hindered.

Sloppy, keep more space once you attack.

Cedric quickly lifted his staff to half Psyre's hieght, knocking him in his torso, jumping back two feet, walking back another six feet.

"Good one, Spunky. Keep it up."

Cedric moved quickly and didn't let pain slow him down at all. Psyre was beyond impressed. He also possessed the kind of calm in a fight that Psyre had only seen in the warrior from the East, a kind of calm he had been working to emulate for more than a year. Psyre had become rather adept at removing thoughts, but he still tensed up easily. Cheeky here helped him calm down and relax though, so sparring with him might be the perfect remedy to the issue.

"Good one, Spunky. Keep it up." Then, Cheeky backed up about 8 feet. Psyre didn't pause at all, despite Ced having shown a clear opening that Psyre had left, instead, he shifted his grip to his favored one (each hand about 18 inches from its respective end) and closed the distance quickly with two short, sharp blows, one from each end of the staff, the right-hand end aiming at Cheeky's long legs and the left-hand one at his right shoulder. Realizing his misunderstanding about how Ced wanted to do this such that he could be sure no one got hurt, his attacks were fast and snappy, but didn't have the power that he normally visualized as driving through an opponent. Without that intent, the blows might leave welts or bruises, but they wouldn't be doing any serious damage. Certainly strong enough to make sure Cedric saw him for the trained warrior he was, but not about to cause any health issues.

Psyre quickly closed the distance between them, switching to Cedric's form of hitting. Cedric smiled at that, he had a downside while training with people he cared about. He had to hold back completely least for some reason he hurt them beyond repair. That had already happened once, and that hadn't been pretty.

I'm glad he's so smart, and willing to train.

He thought to when he had first attempted to train Rowena, she had started crying immediately. Once she was able to speak, she told him he was too scary.

He hadn't meant for her to accidentally see him on the job in town the few weeks beforehand, but she had snuck up on him acting as someone she didn't know. Someone calculating and cold. A murderer. The past was the past, fact was he couldn't train with her anymore, wouldn't. He didn't want to be a cause of fear for her, any more than he already was.

At least now she had Psyre to train with, someone who wouldn't go easy and wouldn't scar her mind.

Ah, father of the year, aren't we?

While thinking of all this, he quickly moved his body seconds after being hit. He pivoted on his heel (undamaged leg, of course) and moved his hand up his staff (now holding it as Psyre was).

He hit his neck, and when his target-

No, Psyre.

When Psyre was off balance a bit, he crouched down, and sweep kicked his legs out from under him, catching his head so it didn't bang on the ground.

With his uninjured legs he was usually able to jump about five feet, but with the brilliant attacks (couldn't help being impressed) his maximum was probably three. But that would take too much energy with his opponent now on the ground. So, with this in mind, he jumped back a foot and walked back eight more, awaiting the next strike. When the 'lil Punk got up, Cedric winked at him.

"You're doing great. Practice more at finding weak spots, they're important." Cedric went back to his original grip on the weapon. "You should be able to find them just by glancing, fights can be spontaneous. You can make them end quickly with some observation."

Cedric Smiled, he knew his weak spot. He had confidence Psyre would know as well.

Cedric switched his grip on the staff when he saw that Psyre continued to push to the inside, making use of his smaller body and better ability to fight in close quarters. That kind of adaptive thinking was going to be difficult to deal with. Cedric didn't let himself get caught up in anything that would leave him out of his element, he continuously shifted the situation to try to benefit himself. And yet, he was having difficulty. Not with being hit or dodging, those were fine. No, it was when he struck. There was a flash of something cold and dark in his eyes as he went for a counterattack, and for a moment, Psyre was too shocked and almost terrified. What he saw behind those eyes didn't look like the Cheeky he knew. The next thing he knew, he was falling. Immediately, he bent his neck, tucking his chin into his chest, and arched his back, keeping his kidneys away from anything on the ground that might hurt the vulnerable areas. He felt Cedric's hand guiding him down as well. Purely redundant at this point, but appreciated nonetheless. He kept his grip on the staff, which meant that he couldn't slap the ground to disperse the force of the fall, but he still had a weapon in his hands. As Ced started to hop back, he very nearly kicked at Ced's ankles from behind with a sweep while swinging at his midsection with a staff, but then he had a fun idea. This would be great if he could make it work. So, he waited. He doubted Cedric would make the foolish mistake of underestimating him, but he still didn't want to play his hand too early.

"You're doing great. Practice more at finding weak spots, they're important. You should be able to find them just by glancing, fights can be spontaneous. You can make them end quickly with some observation."

Psyre could tell Cedric knew what he was talking about. Not in a manner derived from studies, but one of experience. And that Cedric had two vital ones in this fight. The first, and most obvious, was the leg that Psyre had hit at the beginning, when he had thought it was full contact. But the second, and more significant, was that flash of the Other Cedric. This whole fight, he's been holding back. He has to. There's no other way for him to control himself. That -coupled with his leg- made it very unlikely he would counterattack before establishing control of the encounter. He scared himself, for whatever reason, so he couldn't let himself react instinctively. Which meant that he would have to act slowly until he knew all of the variables. It was part of why each of Psyre's aggressive moves had worked to at least some degree. It was why this next one would be spectacular.

Psyre kept his grip on the staff, but moved it to his left, almost like a sheathed sword, so that he could let go with the left hand and still have a strong swing with the right. Then, he let out a ferocious yell and charged toward Ced. When he was about eight feet away, he began his swing, a huge horizontal attack at Cedric's right bicep. He let go with his left hand once the staff passed his waist. Then, as he continued toward Cedric, he put his left hand directly under Cedric's outstretched staff and released a Lesser Disruption (150 AP - 50 = 100 remaining in topic). With only one hand on his staff, he wouldn't be able to hold back quite as much as he would like to, but he didn't have to. What he was doing was far from lethal, but the ferocity of it would put Cedric in a situation in which most of his attention would have to be on holding back, not on the two-pronged attack. The staff hitting his arm would be significant, at the very least rather jarring, and a spell of that force hitting his staff would either rip it out of his hands and send it flying or cause it to careen back into his face, depending on how tight he was holding the staff. The moment he had finished both attacks, Psyre leaped into a roll, aiming past Cedric's likely injured (and therefore slower) right side, using his free left left arm to begin the rotation he needed to distribute the force across his back, sliding into a clean shoulder roll.

"What if I can find them by thinking, not by glancing?" Psyre stood and turned with a smile, evidently pleased with himself.

Psyre charged a few beats after Cedric's words, with a battle cry.

Ah, he noticed my holding back then.


His attacks were sudden, Cedric couldn't help being impressed. The spell knocked the staff out of Cedric's hands, but that wasn't exactly a bad thing.

Cedric watched Psyre move to hit him in his arm, quickly moving his hand to grab the stick and rotate away from it in one smooth slide.

His leg was still cooperating, but Psyre was smart to see it wasn't at it's best. He was even smarter to realize how hard it was for Cedric to concentrate on holding back.

He had learned to fight without thinking, just pure action. It was the best way to fight in his line of work, emotions put to the side to create a brutal machine of a man.

But he couldn't let that happen with Psyre, not yet. He needed to be ready first.

Having his hands free of the weapon might actually prove to be a good thing, or at least it would have to considering it was too far away for Cedric's liking. He had to keep his focus on Psyre, he had to make sure he was ready for anything.

He knew they'd have more training sessions, but things happened. He could be in danger at any moment, which is why he had so many people watching after Rowena when she went out, just to make sure she was safe. She had never detected them, and she's only been targeted once. Very briefly.

They're one of the examples of why not to go after who Cedric finds important, let's just say his bits and pieces weren't all together in the right places.

Cedric was never too good at puzzles.

Psyre rolled brilliantly away, and Cedric didn't miss a beat to follow him. 

"What if I can find them by thinking, not by glancing?"


Psyre's smile faded a bit at the shock that Cedric was just right there next to him.
Cedric smirked, "Even better."

He spun himself around the boy very gently (but with speed) tapped the boy on his temples, back of his spine, adam's apple, solar plexus, and finally moving to take hold on the boy's head, giving it a soft jerk.

stopped in front of Psyre, looking him in the eye.

"Those hits, with enough force, can kill you. Never let someone have that advantage. And most importantly," Cedric smiled at this fantastic creature he had come to know. "Don't let someone behind you, weapon or not. It's the number one rule." He winked. Always wink.

Cedric looked on as Psyre seemed.... stunned? He didn't mean to do that.

"Hey, buddy." Cedric poked his cheek."Anyone home in there? Didn't mean to overwhelm you or anything..."

Cedric side glanced at Psyre. Oops.

"We can take a break if you want? Call it off and go another day?" Cedric's mind was racing at this point. Gods, he better not have scared Psyre like he had Rowena.


If this set him off, who knew what Cedric's job would do to him? Cedric fidgeted a bit, watching Psyre. Maybe he was lost in thought? Had he figured out what Cedric did for a living? Impossible. He's was too friendly to set any of that off... Then what? Cedric took a discreet, deep breath.

"Don't worry champ, I'll uh. How about we tell jokes or something. Go get some food? Hunt? Whatever you want it's on me." Cedric grinned, maybe a bit too wide. Nothing he could do about it.

Psyre stood as still as he could and let everything happen. He hadn't been planning on it, but it happened fast and he didn't want to move and accidentally impale his eye on Ced's finger. So, he stood there. And stood there. And continued to stand there. Finally, Cedric dropped his guard and poked Psyre in the cheek. At last. The chance for which he had been waiting. Psyre dropped the staff as he felt the poke and loosed a Lesser Disruption from each hand, both aimed at Cedric's right foot, in order to hurt the jerk without doing serious damage. Psh. 

"You know what I want? I wanna go for a run!" Psyre cackled almost maniacally as he began to sprint out of the training grounds.

[Exit] 

((
Words in topic: 1651. Requesting: Attribute points, finishing a spell, inscribing a rune

Attributes: 33 points
Requesting: + 33 Strength

Spells: Finish Spirited escape (already invested 300 words, using 1200 to complete, leaves 451 available)

Runes: Inscribing Servant Wind on left middle finger (451 words- 250 for inscription)
))

Cedric suddenly fell at Psyre's attack. He couldn't help laughing, he really did enjoy Wolf Boy. Truly.

He listened to the boy's laughter, making him unable to stop smiling.

"You know what I want? I wanna go for a run!"

"Fine, you little Runt!" Affection was clear in Cedric's voice. "But you should know, I'm pretty fast myself."

Cedric got up, wincing a little at his leg. Maybe he'd just run enough to catch up with him.

"First one to the Castle gets to pick what we're having for dinner," Cedric shouted after Psyre, who was running off into the distance laughing. Cedric began to run after him, glad he hadn't scared him off. Honestly, if Cedric ever did anything to hurt this boy, his new 'son' in a sense (he didn't want to jinx it), he'd surely never forgive himself.

But he didn't have to worry about that, now did he. He felt his smirk stay on his face the whole time he ran after Tree Mcgee.

[EXIT]

((Word count 1,605. points=32. Requesting 12 in strength, 12 in health, 8 in dexterity.))

Approved. Don't forget, these stats will not carry to any topic you are currently in

Approving Sam as well.