Knights Will Be Knights
| Knights Will Be Knights | |
|---|---|
| Date of Scene: | 26 January 2012 |
| Location: | Fuyuki City |
| Synopsis: | Saber and Lancelot duel, only this time it's more "fun" and less "fatal". And some "undignified". |
| Cast of Characters: | 346, Lancelot |
- Lancelot has posed:
Fuyuki City! That is where we currently are. Or more specifically, an abandoned lot somewhere in Fuyuki City where disturbance is all but impossible. It's a strange meeting place, but one that has a very specific reason: Lancelot has challenged Arturia to a duel. Or to be a bit MORE specific, a spar.
Not the 'to the death kind' that they had when he was forced to pretend to be Mordred, or the brutal throwdown they had when he had lost his mind. He challenged Saber to a simple challenge, blade to blade, to test and hone their skills. Something he had not been able to have in centuries, and something he truly missed.
And so, with blade in hand, Lancelot stands wearing his armor (with the helmet left off), the black platemail making him look imposing and knightly. He clasps in his hands a broadsword which he managed to acquire after Excalibur broke the cheaper sword he had been using prior.
- Saber has posed:
It was, Arturia had to admit, an odd place for the kind of challenge Lancelot had issued. All the times she had sparred with Agrias had been at the off-world recreation centre, a facility designed to weather the kind of abuse all the knights were capable of dishing out. On the other hand, a more secluded area would protect their identities better -- his more than hers, since apparently there were more than a few people wandering about who had known her true identity -- without causing too much damage.
More importantly, this was a challenge the King of Knights was actually looking forward to. Unlike their previous heart-rending battles, this one had no greater stakes than the kind of training they had done all those years ago in Camelot.
Saber carefully suppressed a wave of nostalgia, and the tears it would have invoked. Though she felt somewhat guilty for the blessings she had been granted, she could not help her happiness, though even that was concealed. It was her mask itself which was different, a far cry from the rigid emotionless façade she had usually worn. Today, it was the slight smile of a confident knight.
Smoothly dismounting the modern equivalent of her trusty steed, the armoured Yamaha V-Max, she awarded her First Knight with the almost cocky grin she had only revealed in his presence during her reign.
"I hope that I have not kept you waiting for very long."
- Lancelot has posed:
Lancelot smiles at Saber with an equal amount of confidence, knowing he was one of the few in Camelot that could call himself equal to the King in swordplay. He hmms and reaches up a gauntlet-clad hand to brush some bangs from his eyes, "Not too long..." He trails off, shifting his stance a bit as he raises his blade and swings it at the air testingly before he finishes.
"... only several hundred years. And two or three wars." His slight smiles widens into a grin that shows some tooth. His purple eyes carefully lock onto the King of Knights. After swinging his sword a couple times, he hooks an arm under his waist and bows to her, "I appreciate you finally accepting my invitation, Your Majesty."
It's as much a teasing gesture as a serious one. He returns to standing and says, "When you are ready, we can begin on your mark." The excitement is notable in his voice to Saber, who can read it even through the calm facade he keeps. And who could blame him for being excited? This is the first time he's gotten to spar with his Best Friend in ages... and just for the fun of it.
It's, to some degree, his way of once more re-introducing himself to his King. The Prodigal Knight returning to his Court.
- Saber has posed:
How long had it been since she had felt like casually jesting back at someone? Certainly at no time as a Servant had she ever been compelled to do so, but even before then, even her smile had become more withdrawn. Irisviel had helped somewhat, and her new life with Sakura had pried her from her shell, but it was only now that her former self had been mostly restored.
"Oh? Not long at all, then?" Arturia lightly jested, the faint smile never leaving her face. "But of course... it would be dishonourable not to accept such an invitation."
Only moments after she had spoken, her sharp black three-piece suit was replaced with the familiar blue-etched silver armour and azure, gold-trimmed dress, her hair swept up once more into he customary braided bun. Though everything about her mien suggested calm, the unrestrained eager smile gave her true feelings away. And she did nothing at all to hide them.
The little blonde easily dropped into an en garde stance, which signalled she was ready. "Come at me, then... my knight!"
- Lancelot has posed:
Lancelot's grip on his blade tightens, testing the weight of it as Saber dons her dress and armor. He gives her a wry grin and then says, "Perhaps a Wager on this match? The loser must buy the winner dinner afterwords?" He asks, a playful tone on his voice. Normally such wagers on spars were more akin to 'The Loser is forced to clean the stables' or 'The winner gets to sleep in an extra hour while the loser polishes his armor for the day'. But times had changed and Sabers do enjoy their food.
Wasting not a moment after she declares her readiness, Lancelot dashes towards her. His armored feet dig into the ground and give him good purchase as he charges in towards her. His opening maneuver is a classic: A simple, swift, overhead swing of the blade that brings it raining down towards the smaller blonde at an unrestrained swiftness and power.
But the sword strike is actually meant to distract Saber, unless she's fully wary. Because, due to his superior size, he's able to bring the swing down while still stepping in towards her to bring the distance to her next to zero, attempting to keep her from being able to maneuver or parry as effectively.
- Saber has posed:
The King of Knight's slight smile widened only a fraction, but it would have been more than noticeable to the taller knight. "A wager, hmm? I look forward to you buying dinner, then."
Indeed, the King Arthur of old had returned, including the slight cockiness that was part and parcel of being a true knight who rejoiced in a good test of strength and skill.
And ready she was, seeming to anchor herself into the ground even as the Knight of the Lake charged. He was a Saber now, able to fully use the lauded speed of that class... but so was she. At the very last moment she dodged, using her much smaller stature to her advantage, sidestepping and swinging Excalibur -- its blade fully visible -- behind her back and over her shoulder into a side strike at his torso. It carried enough force for a killing blow, but it was a simple enough move that surely a knight of his calibre and experience could easily counter.
- Lancelot has posed:
He figured she would easily and deftly deal with his sword strike, but he had to test her to make sure she wasn't rusty before he brought out the full array of moves. There's an almost proud glint in his eye when she clears the distance between the two of them and manages to find room to maneuver her sword into an attacking angle, coming at his side torso.
With a nimble shift, he releases the sword's hilt with one hand, bringing it down to guard the side of his torso from her strike. The reason only one hand is gripping the sword is because his other is bracing the flat of the blade with his forearm to absorb the impact of her strike and minimize follow-through damage.
It also gives him a good angle to counter-attack. As her blade strikes his, he thrusts the hilt of the blade forward, meaning to crack Saber in the chin and pommel-strike her with his obscure and unique angle, "I believe it is you who shall be buying dinner." He counters with a wide grin and a laugh in his voice.
- Saber has posed:
A simple enough move on her part, the petite blonde was not particularly surprised that her blow had been blocked. But now came the anticipation of what he would do next. Even after all these years, there was always something for her to learn from him.
She wasn't disappointed, and the angle was certainly an unusual one. It was, however, something a warrior of modest skill and thinking could have performed; the battlefield was always changing and demanded some flexibility of both mind as well as body. They had both walked away from such bloody battlefields, and she possessed that same flexibility.
Taking a large step back and leaning back just a hair's breadth out of the path of the oncoming pommel, she then dropped lower in her knees and lunged forward, driving Excalibur point-forward towards the back of Lancelot's legs.
"Then you shall have to do better than that!" she teased with a wide grin.
- Lancelot has posed:
Lancelot admired Saber's fancy maneuver, the speed and precision she dodged and then aimed for the back of his leg with her blade. He didn't have the angle to parry it, so he had to rely on speed and agility. And that is why his dodge is...
A backflip. As the blade comes in, Lancelot nimbly leaps backwards and arches his body, trying to get behind the King of Knights and into an angle he can attack from, "Come now! You almost had me there. If I had been asleep, that would have hit~." He teases her, trying to brush off how close she came to a clean strike.
As soon as he lands, he thrusts forward with the tip of his blade. Against anyone else, this would have been lethal. He aims the sword's tip right between Saber's shoulder blades with a thrust from behind. He doubted she'd die, but he was sure having fun showing off with his King.
- Saber has posed:
The Saber class was one of the classes prized for its speed and agility. How many times had Arturia herself employed such an acrobatic move in the midst of battle? Yet it was disconcerting on some level to witness such a manoeuvre performed by another Servant, especially since in the blonde's case, such a feat was made easier due to her compact, lithe stature. But for someone as tall and muscular as the Knight of the Lake, it was all the more disconcerting.
Disconcerting... and exhilarating. Challenges and honourable spars were always enjoyable, but to be matched so evenly was a true joy.
With a blur of motion, she flipped her blade over her back, fending off his oncoming blow, albeit narrowly. "Hmph," she made a soft sound in response to his teasing, though her annoyance was merely playful rather than serious.
Abruptly, she dropped to one knee, kicking low and back in a motion to knock his feet out from under the taller knight. "If you're over-confident, it will make a win that much easier for me," she teased back.
- Lancelot has posed:
The leg sweep does catch the much larger knight off guard. With the crashing of armor, he lands on his back on the ground heavily. But he's only stunned for a moment before he rolls backwards and vaults back to his feet, "Ho ho. I have been humbled, haven't I?"
With a shifting off his foot, the knight hooks under something and then kicks it upwards. It's a stick, which he catches in his off-hand and flourishes a bit. Saber, of all people, knows how dangerous this seemingly mundane object is in his grasp.
With a renewed aggressiveness, the now-dual-wielding Lancelot steps in towards Saber with a trio of shots. His sword slashes down and then secondly slashes again at her side. The hand with the stick, however, teasingly snakes around and attempts to smack Saber on the bottom with the length of wood as he says, "You should guard your flank~."
- Saber has posed:
Invoking a Noble Phantasm might have been an 'unfair' move as far as someone else was concerned, but for Arturia, it was such a part of who he was that it was no different than any other natural ability. Indeed, he had been a weapons-master who had surpassed even her,and being able to wield even scrap metal as a Noble Phantasm was a testament to that skill upon becoming a Heroic Spirit.
Even with a single two-handed sword, the petite knight deftly blocked the incoming blows... all but one. The final strike to her bottom went unguarded, connecting and drawing a sharp cry of mostly surprise from the girlish knight.
Of all the possible moves he could have performed, it was one she had truly never expected, due entirely to her unique circumstances. Kay had performed some underhanded tactics when they had sparred -- some of them successful -- but nothing of that rather personal nature. It had connotations of her true femininity, a femininity she had discarded for the sake of the kingdom. No one with the exception of her immediate family and her wife had simply known she was not a man... as well as him. As far as she had been concerned, she was for all intents and purposes a man. That blow told her otherwise.
And suddenly, the King of Knights found her face heating up to a shade of red, and not from anger. "L... L-Lancelot! Th-that was most undignified!"
Not unfair, not unchivalrous... undignified. And her reaction was entirely and openly embarrassed.
- Lancelot has posed:
"Haha!" Lancelot says with a bit of a triumphant laugh, smiling to Saber despite her embarrassed state. Perhaps he had deliberately known it would fluster her. Perhaps he was just having a bit of fun. It's known largely only to him.He wags the stick at Saber, "Unconventional combat is still a hallmark of war. One should expect all attacks."
He grins widely at the blonde King-Queen and then tosses the stick to the side. He walks up to the blushing blonde and wraps an arm around her shoulder, finally conceding a: "I'm sorry, My King. It was truly an underhanded tactic." He places a hand on top of her head and pats it a bit.
"I accept my loss by disqualification and shall purchase your meal."
- Saber has posed:
"All attacks, yes. But that.... that was not..." An attack, she wanted to say. As lewd as the King of Heroes had been, she might have expected something even more suggestive, but that was his character. Not to mention it would not have been as... playful. Perhaps that was what had been the most embarrassing of all to the King of Knights.
Nevertheless, she forced her blush back down with a sigh, and shook her head. "No, I accept my loss properly. To do otherwise would be an affront to chivalry."
And besides, treating it like a proper defeat meant she could ignore the embarrassing part about it.
- Lancelot has posed:
Lancelot gives a heavy sigh as Saber is stubborn, refusing to even WIN if her honor demands it. Such was the tenacity of the king he had sworn allegiance to. With a slight frown that indicates his own disappointment in his attack more than any amount of anger at her, he says, "Fine, fine. I will graciously accept this victory."
Unsummoning his armor so that he stood before her in a three-piece purple suit with his hand on her head, he smiles to Saber, "Very well then. I believe I would enjoy Hamburger for dinner tonight." He decides, before asking, "I assume you know the best place?"
And then he'd just wait for Saber to drag him somewhere.
