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 Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 5:22 pm
In the days since speaking with Solvtorn (and enjoying a great deal of mint with him), Gunnar had done his best to listen to the other bards of the pride. He listened to their ballads wearing a ferocious frown of concentration. While Solv hadn’t quite come right out and said so, Gunnar had the feeling that the bard thought he wasn’t well-educated in terms of music and art. And he wasn’t. Certainly not! But he gave the ballads his full concentration, struggling to listen for the rhythm and pattern of the words. The next time Solvtorn yapped at him about music, assuming Gunnar would be clueless, maybe Gunnar would surprise him! (Maybe.) While Gunnar was likely never going to impress Solvtorn with his rich understanding of music, he could impress Solv with his fighting ability any day. And Gunnar was heading for Solv with the intention of doing just that. He had thought hard on how to thank the under-appreciated bard for his friendship. Finally Gunnar had lit on a plan that seemed foolproof: he would teach the bard to spar. Fighting seemed so very simple to the reaver, much simpler than the work of a bard. If someone only took the time to help Solv practice, the bard would be able to win respect in no time! Quite pleased with his cleverness, Gunnar marched towards the bard. “Solvtorn! I challenge you!” Gunnar roared. He beamed at the bard. Solvtorn would probably be delighted to have a sparring bout with a friend!
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Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 7:19 am
Solvtorn, totally idle and enjoying the idleness, was not expecting to be challenged. At all. For one thing, he had not done anything lately to warrant being challenged. But more importantly - if insultingly - Solvtorn was not considered important enough to challenge. If someone took offense at something he'd said, most of the time there was no formal challenge forthcoming. Most of the time it was simply an ambush followed by a beating.
Fortunately, the unexpected nature of this challenge from a lion he had thought might be something resembling a friend did not catch the bard so very off guard that he was unable to come up with a reply. Of course, the first reply that came to mind was hardly witty or clever, being something along the lines of a confused grunt. The second reply involved actual words, but only two of them and their total letters would only add up to seven.
"Mentally? I very much doubt that," Solv replied. It wasn't his best, but it was something and it involved no profanity.
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2012 5:36 pm
Usually when he challenged a lion, they came at him roaring and snarling. No good Reaver declined a challenge!
Gunnar was a bit taken aback at Solv's lack of enthusiasm, but at least Solv had come up with an insult. Sort of. Well, perhaps the bard was trying. Deciding that Solvtorn was simply new to bragging and boasting, Gunnar rallied and growled in response to Solvtorn's mildly sassy comment.
"Are you afraid to fight me, bard?" Gunnar taunted (good-naturedly, although Solvtorn might not realize that). "Show me your claws!" He extended his own and grinned at the bard.
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2012 5:44 pm
Solv gave Gunnar a long look, trying to determine whether the reaver was serious. Ordinarily he was better at this sort of thing, but the whole situation struck him as being more than a little silly, and to make matters worse the fact that he wasn't sure where he and Gunnar stood with each other confused him. Solv did not have guy friends, but he thought he and Gunnar might be friends. Sort of. Kind of. In a way.
"Gunnar," he said, deciding that it would be best to have things laid out in plain speech. "Are you actually challenging me, or is this a joke of some sort? Because if it's a joke I'm afraid I don't share your sense of humor."
He tried not to look insulting because it might not be a joke, after all, but there were so many witty put-downs crowding his mind it was difficult to ignore them all. Some people were easy marks, and Gunnar was among them. But if they were friends Solv would maybe have to be nicer to him. Or else Gunnar would have to learn when he was just teasing, as opposed to when he meant to lacerate someone verbally. Apparently this necessity went both ways, since Solv still couldn't tell if Gunnar meant to lacerate him physically.
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2012 6:09 pm
Solvtorn was asking if he was joking? For one of the Myrsky Syntynyt, the bard seemed painfully slow. Hadn't he ever sparred before? Gunnar was confused, and his normal method of dealing with confusion was to hit the offender and storm off. Being confused made him feel foolish, and there was nothing Gunnar hated more than being made a fool of.
But Solv was something like a friend, and Gunnar wasn't one to lash out at his friends. Even if they did act peculiar now and then. Frowning at the bard, Gunnar retracted his claws.
"Of course I'm challenging you. You don't want to spar?" He asked this in the horrified, bewildered tone of one asking 'Did you really make love to an antelope?' or 'You ate your own cubs for dinner?' Gunnar knew Solv was Freeborn, but he was still a lion!
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2012 6:29 pm
Um. Okay then. Sparring. That was different than a challenge. Sort of. Solv knew that people weren't supposed to end up dead at the end of a sparring match, or even seriously injured most of the time. But then, his experience had taught him that what was supposed to happen and what did happen did not always coincide when it came to him and fighting.
Gunnar's evident bewilderment initially provoked further bemusement on Solv's part until he realized the musclehead actually thought sparring was fun. He knew that reavers enjoyed fighting, but it hadn't occurred to him that anyone could be so thick as to think it was a universally acclaimed past time. At least not until just this minute.
"Gunnar. Do I look like a lion who would enjoy sparring?" Probably it was dangerous to allow the reaver to draw his own conclusion on that one, and so he gave the reaver a hint. "There's a reason I don't go out viking, you know."
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2012 6:46 pm
Solvtorn looked as though he would rather lick nettles than spar. Baffled and defeated, Gunnar sat down on his rump and stared at the bard. He knew that Solv didn't go out viking, of course, but he thought that was because of Solv's passion for music.
He hadn't thought it was because Solv had flowers in the blood.
No. No way. No friend of Gunnar's was a coward! Banishing the horrifying thought, Gunnar gave Solv a very stern look indeed. "You don't go out viking because you're busy with your ballads, of course. And you don't know how to fight properly." There was a difference between being a coward and simply being untrained. Warming to his theme, Gunnar continued. "My mother was a salt wife as well, y'know. I know it's hard to get your father's favor when your mother hardly has it." That had all changed since Runa left Thorgrim and Lena became his true wife, but Gunnar still knew how difficult it was. "I suppose you trained your ... other talents ... to impress him instead of fighting, but I can train you!" Gunnar said earnestly.
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2012 6:59 pm
Oh, gods. Why did Gunnar have to be so dumb and earnest and well-meaning? It took all of the fun out of insulting him and just made Solv feel bad about the myriad times he'd questioned Gunnar's intelligence privately and aloud.
"That's a kinder way to put it than my dear old da used," Solv remarked. One of the last things his father had said to him had been to tell him that he would never be a reaver because no captain would ever take him viking. Solv had always hated his father for not asking his captain to include his son on just one viking. It was done all the time, but not for Solv.
Solv honestly had no idea what to make of Gunnar trying to relate to him and be understanding. Solv knew while they'd been doing 'n** together he'd told Gunnar about how his mother was a salt wife and how his father had always sort of despised him, but he'd sort of assumed that anything he said while they were on 'n** would be politely forgotten in future encounters.
"You want to train me to fight. Oh, Stormlords' salty balls. This should be interesting."
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2012 7:09 pm
The bard still didn't have anywhere near as much enthusiasm as Gunnar would have liked, but at least he was agreeing to Gunnar's plan to teach him!
Well, he hadn't actually agreed as such, but Gunnar usually tried to be an optimist and now was a perfect time to put that into practice. Perhaps Solvtorn was so overcome with delight that he was unable to put it into words.
"Of course fighting is interesting," Gunnar said brightly. "Not as interesting as your music, maybe, but it takes art and skill. There is a rhythm to it, if you can pick it out." He grinned toothily at his friend. Talking to Solv always made him feel a bit dull and slow, but on the subject of battle Gunnar would be the expert. "Come at me, brother. Show me what you know first." He tensed, ready to defend himself when (if) Solv attacked.
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2012 7:23 pm
If Solv could've read Gunnar's optimistic thoughts he might have gagged. Or more likely choked as he laughed and then died. Not the worst death a Stormborn could have, but certainly not how Solv hoped to meet his end. He would throw himself from a cliff first, if it came to it, which still wasn't death in battle, but it was better than dying in bed.
"Rhythm. Right," Solv muttered. The only rhythm he had ever associated with battle was the pounding of his blood in his ears when he'd been beaten badly. It wasn't a rhythm he much cared for, all things considered.
He scuffed his paws in the dirt, waiting for Gunnar to grin a sly grin and tell him he was just kidding, but he rather suspected that sly grins weren't part of Gunnar's range of expressions and that the reaver was perfectly earnest in his cheer and enthusiasm for battle. After a few moments it seemed that Gunnar was not going to relax and let Solv off the hook.
"Fine," the purple-maned lion grumbled half-heartedly.
He trotted forward to Gunnar's side and sat down in front of him. Then he suddenly turned his head and stared wide-eyed at something behind Gunnar. With an expression between awe and horror he exclaimed, "Dear gods. What is that?"
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2012 7:31 pm
Gunnar flexed his claws, ready to retaliate. Would Solv try to tackle him? Or would he come at Gunnar flailing like an awkward cub? He narrowed his eyes, watching the bard closely as Solv ... casually strolled up and plunked himself down.
The blond reaver blinked, uncertain but still tense in case Solv should attack.
Gunnar was a veteran of many raids, and had sparred with many lions. He wasn't a total idiot, no matter what Solvtorn thought. The bard's trick should not have fooled him.
It did, though. Gunnar had faced opponents that tried to trick him, but he had never faced a lion that did so after walking up to him and simply sitting down. If he and Solv were truly enemies, Gunnar could have ripped his face off. The bizarre tactic was a complete surprise. Gunnar didn't relax entirely, but he did turn his head to glance behind him. "What are you going on about, bard?"
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2012 7:42 pm
Solv waited for another beat. If Gunnar didn't take the bait, well, that would be too bad. But if he did, at least Solv would get one hit in before the humiliation commenced. All parts of his mind wanted to believe that Gunnar was correct in saying that he was just untrained, and that he'd probably be a great fighter with training, but a small voice told him he had flowers in his blood and that nothing Gunnar did would change that.
But Gunnar turned. Not all the way, but a little. Enough.
Solv wasn't very strong, but he was fast. At least over short distances. The distance between his paw and Gunnar's ear was pretty damn short. His paw covered it in blurring motion to cuff the reaver hard.
Probably there could have been more force behind the strike, but even as he made it Solv was moving away as quickly as he was able, removing himself from Gunnar's immediate retaliation, should he choose to make any. If he'd really been fighting, he would've used claws and aimed for his enemy's eyes, but Gunnar didn't deserve that.
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Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2012 10:51 am
Well-honed reflexes kicked in when the bard's paw swung towards his head, but Solv was very close and Gunnar very distracted. His feeble attempt to dodge was far too late. He let out a pained, startled yelp when the bard's paw smashed into his sensitive ear. A valiant effort turned the yelp into a rather manlier sounding roar, but Gunnar still felt quite foolish.
He swung around to return Solv's attack, but Solv was quick. Gunnar couldn't help laughing, chagrined but pleased by Solv's trick. "Nice. There's no shame in using tricks, as long as they work." It was clever of Solv to play to his strengths -- his wits. Tricks rarely worked more than once, though. Gunnar shook his head, trying to clear the ringing in his ears, and then lunged at Solv, seeking to knock the bard to the ground. He was pleased that Solv had shown quick thinking in tricking him, but they were sparring, and he would still try to beat the bard.
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Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2012 11:08 am
Solv was grinning, too, at Gunnar's yelp. It was not a sound that he had often heard coming from a reaver. In fact, he had never heard a reaver yelp. It was satisfying to do so now, and the fact that he had been the cause made it all the more so.
"Well, that's pretty much all I've got," Solv admitted. "Usually I'm much farther away by the time - "
Whatever else he was about to say, he ended up not saying after all. It became too important to move out of the way of Gunnar's lunge. Unfortunately, he had planted his feet pretty firmly, thinking that they would be done now that he'd cuffed Gunnar's ear and disengaged, and that meant that he was not fit to do more than scramble gracelessly backward.
Too slow. Much too slow. Gunnar's lunge took him completely off his feet and he landed on his side with a grunt. For several seconds he lay there, gasping and winded. Had he cracked a rib?
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Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2012 12:07 pm
Solv hadn't officially surrendered or called a truce, but looking down at the wheezing bard Gunnar didn't think he had much fight left in him. It hadn't been much of a sparring bout, really, but Gunnar was satisfied. Solv had managed to hit him, and hopefully next time Solv would learn not to let his guard down! The bard was certainly quick enough to dodge out of the way, if only he remained a bit more alert.
Fighting usually put Gunnar in the mood to chew mint or find something to eat, but their fight had ended so quickly he was hardly tired. "Next time I'll be ready for your tricks, and you'll be ready for mine, hey?" He didn't insult Solv by offering to help the other lion to his feet, but waited patiently for the bard to rise on his own.
"Not a battle for the ballads, but good enough," Gunnar said cheerfully. "You'll do better with practice." Solv was Freeborn after all, and couldn't be expected to keep up with a Reaver for long.
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