The Dance of the Blades (Protege)

[Protégé]

Protégé stayed in his defensive position, waiting until Gil made a move. Though Gil was using a weapon that was heavier than he was used to, Protégé knew Gil could probably hold out longer. Therefore, he enjoyed his little rest, knowing that while he only had to be loosely on guard, Gilsworthy would have to be tense and expectant, without knowing how Protégé could strike. However, Protégé knew it was not a good idea to try and hold out in this position forever. It would get dull, and one of his limbs might fall asleep and slacken. Therefore, Protégé stood up, sliding his spear in until the shaft was in his armpit, with a good grip on the weapon. Rotating his buckler around the spear, Protégé kept it next to his spear, using the buckler as he had before, to hold his spear in place while being a small amount of defense, and grabbing onto the shaft with the other hand. Now the spear was protuding ahead of the shield, with both arms, Protégé's shield and ribcage, along with his shoulder, holding it in place. This less defensive position might make Gil be cocky and attack, but the spear was locked up just as well. Speaking to Gil, he said, "And you dance around the spear well. However, in the end, you'll get the shaft."

((Summary: Protégé got out of his defensive position and is now standing in a position kind of like the original one, but his spear is now gripped by both hands and held tight while the shield is protecting a large portion of Protégé's front.

[Gilsworthy]

"Ahaha." laughed Gil humorlessly, "You do seem fond of puns, hmm? But neither of us is here for a conversation, so why don't we continue this little bout, eh?" he said. This was a pickle, if he attacked he would be counterattacked easily, and if he waited the range on that spear would have him down for the count quick. Cleverness was needed, and he couldn't use any of his tricks in case they ever fought in the future. Too many of those only worked once. 'Just a sparring match.' he thought, 'Find out your opponent's fighting style, then find a way around it for next time.' That was how these bouts went.

Gil dipped the tip of his saber down, until it touched the ground facing Protege, then twirled it once and returned it to that position. Now that he was back up, the legs were now the weakest part. Yet they were covered pretty effectively by the easily movable spear. Get the spear up in the air and the legs could be attacked. Easy, right?

Quite suddenly Gil quick stepped forward and brought the sword in an arc coming down toward Protege's head. It was off, though, even if it went through it would at best scratch his chest armor, but it was all diversionary to draw Protege's attention upward. If he saw through the bluff then Gil would quickly have a spear at his throat.

[Protégé]

Keep your eye on the target, not his weapons, unless the weapon is between you and him. This lesson, pounded into his head years ago by his father, came to Protégé. Time and time again, Protégé had learned that while only watching your opponent's weapon showed you what the weapon was doing at the moment, watching the opponent showed you not only what the weapon was doing, but also showed you what the person was going to do a little bit before it happens. Watching Gil now, Protégé saw his arms moving down and knew Gil was going to attempt to nail him in the head. However, this left Gil open to attack. Bringing his sheild up to cover his face while keeping it low enough that it could be shifted in the event of Gil making one of his quick changes, Protégé lunged outward with the spear, not far enough to nail Gil, but close enough for Gil to feel the cold metal of the spear with his neck. Maybe if he had watched Gil's feet he might have known that Gil was too far to hit him, but the saber slash still left Gilsworthy open, and a spear can cover great distances.

((Summary: Protégé moved his sheild up to protect him while keeping it low enough it could be moved if needed, Protégé lunged with spear to put the spear at Gil's throat))

[Gilsworthy]

The weapons froze, he stopped them in midair as the spear came to rest on a vital area. It was over, then, and it seemed round one went to Protege. He thought he knew more than this, to be made a fool of in battle. At least they weren't out in the hall, where everyone would see his defeat.

"Well." he said, careful to keep his adams apple from touching the spearpoint, "That's well done, Protégé, looks like I underestimated your reflexes. Ah hell, what am I saying? You beat me fair and square." Gil dropped the saber and the dagger, letting the fall clanking onto the ground and stepped back. A sigh escaped him and he ran a hand through his hair frustratedly. What was there he could've done? If you didn't sneak up on an opponent like that there was little you could do from up front. Losing just irked Gil, he was not a man who liked to lose.

"So do you want another go or will we call it a day?"