Stand My Ground, Won't Give In, Won't Give up.

[Pendragon]

One piece of log, add one belt, and tie to a branch. The recipe for a makeshift punching bag.

Only one ingredient missing, a fighter to test it to it's limits.

A right hook, followed by a left uppercut.

The log swung backwards and forwards.

Blood painted the tips of the glass, from worn knuckles.

Throw a kick in every now and then.

Splinters were flying now.

Add in some elbow strikes.

Faster now, and gaining speed.

Your knees, use your knees too.

Hours passed by disguised as minutes.

Leap kick, flat punch.

Day gave way to night.

Until eventually, Pendragon placed one hand firmly on the ground and swung the rest of his body up in a heavy kick. The log was torn from the belt, and flew away from Pen.

Pendragon landed in a crouch position, and remained that way, gasping for air.

I've still got my technique... So why can't I do this to an opponent? He asked himself, staring at the destroyed 'punching bag'.

[dain]

Silence only echoed around Pen as he crouched, gasping for air. Though, that was no surprise, Dain had been watching. He had been exercising his body in a circle of trees not far from there, and had heard that log's impact. On instinct, he had come to see what was up. The assassin was in not very many clothes, only a pair of pants made of light white cotton. His arms were wrapped in bandage from his full elbows down to his hands, where it looped and stopped. RIght now he wasn't making a sound as he walked up behind Pen, distancing himself abou ten feet away; and Dain was quite sweaty. You could see the sun glisten off his bare chest, matter of fact.

"You know, a log is much more different than a human. Different make-up, different internal processes, different mind-span," Dain explained, walking around Pen as he went over to a tree, knocking on it flatly as a wooden noise came forth.

"And plants are MUCH more fragile than us," Dain ended as he knocke don the wood one more time and spun around quickly, hitting the trunk with his elbow and shattering the wood into splinters as the tree fell down away from the two. He resposed himself and took a deep breath as he looked at the boy.

"So...how about we spar? No weapons, just our own bodies. Ground combat, no aerial maneuvers, and no distractions or tricks. Just arm to arm, leg to leg. Or as an alternative, we could both storm down to the headmaster's office all sweaty and the like then take turns knocking him out until he installs a gym!" Dain trailed off, shrugging his shoulders at Pendragon in a comical way.

[Pendragon]

"You know." Pendragon began, talking inbetween his deep breathing. "Your not one of the people I wanted to see right now." He stood up slowly, returning to his full height. "Though a battered version of you might go down better." Blood dripped from knuckles, elbows, knees, everything Pendragon had attacked with. He had dealt a lot of damage, true. That instinct was gone though, the click in his head which said go for the kill. Pendragon suspected that his EX was broken. Not a nice thought.

At first he had blamed his body. The injuries he had recieved, the long cut on his back, his right leg. Pen had realized though, that Ithilwen had healed those, and yet he still walked with a slight limp. Seems his mind was the real problem. Maybe a good blow to the head would fix things.

"Let's go." Pendragon said in a cold voice, taking a position directly infront of Dain. Point blank distance. His breathing had already returned to normal, the foundation skills he had learnt so long ago were still there. Pen raised both fists infront of him, and his body side on to Dain. He moved his right hand forward, and slightly lower than his left.

[dain]

Dain nodded and chuckled from Pendragon's response, not feeling the least bit disdain from the remark. He hadn't planned on seeing Pendragon either, but he could sense the boy had something wrong with him. Though, the assassin way was not to comment on these, but to keep silent and slip a blade between one's ribs. Dain wasn't into that...anymore.

"Grand...just no crying when a bone breaks," He finished, bringing his massive frame into a Muay Thai form, elbows retracted to pose a tremendous blow with his arms at any time. His knees were slightly bent as well, for balance and some protection. His left fist was in front of his face, his right fist positioned at his ribcage.

With a yell, Dain struck out at Pen's body with an agonizing blow, going straight through to the right side of the boy at his ribcage, a resonanting thud marking the extraordinary hit. While his right elbow was receding from its mark at a speedy resolve, his left elbow came from above, aimed directly at Pen's crown.

[Pendragon]

Pendragon's whole body shook with the force of the first blow. He had expected pain, but not on this level. Only pride kept him from backing down there and then. Sanity, and good judgement took the other side. This isn't a fight you can win. It told him.

As if to emphasize this last point, Pen had no time to react to Dain's next blow. The elbow connected with his skull. Hard.. Pen was thrown to the floor, where he lay for several seconds. Get up. His mind ordered, those his body didn't respond for some time. Eventually he made his way back to his feet, and moved back into kick stance.

[dain]

Dain looked in dismay as Pendragon hit the ground, and opened up his body for a kick or punch anywhere above the belt.

"I didn't wait for you to say you were ready. Here, one free hit," Dain offered, opening his arms up to the side. His abdominal muscles tightened as he said this to prevent any major damage.

This might hurt a bit...

[Pendragon]

Pendragon was suprised, and insulted at the same time. He had been ready. And he had been expecting an attack. He decided to go along with it, for the sake of pride if nothing else.

Pen shook his head to Dain's offer. "When I hit you, I want it to be a celebration of my own skill." He said, tongue as sharp as his sword. It seemed to lack his usual confidence, and gave away a compliment if one cared to look between the lines. "C'mon" Pen said, rolling his shoulders, and shaking off the blow. If anything could be said about Pen, he sure knew how to stand up after being knocked down. "Put your guard back up, lets finish this like men."

[dain]

Dain nodded, and smiled.

At least he's honorable. I know quite a few others who wouldn't have passed that up...

"Fine then, let us begin anew."

Dain adjusted himself and brought his body into the same form he had been in not a moment ago, except his right elbow was brought out a mere inch more. He moved in quick as he slid on the ground and swiped out with his leg, hitting Pendragon solidly in the side of his body at the same place he had hit earlier. The assassin quickly swung his other leg as he brought himself up backwards, his right elbow spinning back toward the side of Pendragon's head. Dain had sacirficed the guard of his back and side for another blow to the head.

[Pendragon]

Again, Dain hit the same spot. Pendragon tried to seal himself off from the pain, it was only a distraction from what needed to be done. He couldn't pull it off though, it hurt worse than the last two. Then Dain's elbow slammed against his head, again. This time Pen kept his feet, but he was knocked to the side.

He was spun round so he faced away from Dain, but that didn't stop him moving in with his first punch. Pen threw a blind blow, spinning around with a right hook to the left side of Dain's upper chest. The blow barely connected, Pen's senses had been off and his fist almost slid by. He got lucky however, and two of his knuckles smashed heavily against Dain. Pen had stepped forward too, so he was now standing to the right of Dain. He retracted his fist and slid back into position.

[dain]

Dain didn't wince at the pain but noticed it did reach bone. He'd have a bruise in the morning, that was definately for sure. He wouldn't be able to sleep comfortably enough tonight either, another minus.

That was good, if he had made a solid blow.

Dain noticed Pen to his right and spun around as his left knee came out, landing a serious blow to the side Pendragon had not been hit at yet, bones rumbling from the hit. The assassin followed up with that attack by switching up and bringing his right elbow to Pendragon's shoulder, a less than solid blow hitting but all the same, the elbow continued toward the side of Pendragon's head, aimed directly for the boy's temple.

[Pendragon]

Pen squinted slightly as a knee blow slammed his pistol into his side. The oncoming shoulder blow knocked him back slightly, which by pure luck saved him from getting his head smashed in again.

Pendragon stepped back to his starting position, then threw forward a sturdy uppercut to Dain's stomach. There were no bones there to break, but no doubt it would cause pain. The attack landed with a resounding whack.

Pen quickly moved into his second form, a heel drop. He swung his right leg round to the left and high up into the air, then dropped it for the area where's Dain's neck met his shoulder.

[dain]

Dain accepted the uppercut the uppercut from Pendragon grudgingly as his adbominal muscles pulsed and hardened, barely saving him from getting the wind knocked out of him. As he rose his head, he was met with a kick to his neck which he accepted as well, a 'thud' coming from the hit. Though, Dain just stood there with the foot on his neck from the kick as he reached out and grabbed the leg and threw it to the side to knock off Pendragon's balance.

Obviously, Dain was in pain. His neck was red from the kick but did not get thouroughly damaged, he had pulsed his neck muscles and cushioned the blow away from his windpipe, which would have been deadly. Bending his head to the sides he cracked his neck both ways and came rushing as he threw his knee and caught Pendragon straight in the solarplex of the boy's chest, then swung with his fist instead of his elbow this time, straight on to Pendragon's face.

Time to up the ante a bit...and get this fight moving.

[Pendragon]

Pen had to slam his foot down heavy to keep upright, and while all his thoughts were on balance, Dain nailed his chest. Pendragon stumbled back a few steps, almost falling. He looked up to see a fist flying fast, straight for his face. Everything seemed to slow down, nothing mattered but the fight. No sound could reach his ears, but his own heartbeat.

If I died right here, right now. He thought to himself. Nobody would care.

Does it matter? Came the other voice inside his head, the more confident side fighting for it's place as top dog once again. In the end, it all comes down to you. No matter how you dance round it.

I thought it was tough back home, I thought I was alone then. That was nothing compared to this...

You may have had your little circle of friends, but you were still just as alone as you are now. You know nobody back home was like you... Here, is where you belong.

Then why does it hurt so much?

Remember what he said? You know you're alive when you can feel. And back there, you couldn't feel. Except for her... Memories rushed back of that girl in the rain, a first kiss. A face he would never see again, lips he couldn't meet with his own again. She was back on Pen's own world, and he was... Here. The hardest battles are the ones fought away from the screaming crowds.

Too hard...

Why? He's nothing so much stronger than you've taken down before.

Before was different...

Then make it the same.

Eyes flashed open, even though Pen didn't remember closing them. He was back in the moment, the game was on again. Acting on instinct alone, Pen grabbed Dain's wrist, stopping the blow. He pushed Dain's arm away slightly, and stepped forward so that Pen's right shoulder touched Dain's elbow. Then Pen finished the spin with a powerful kick, letting go of Dain's wrist the moment his foot connected with the place Dain's neck met his chest. Pen finished by stepped back to his original position, a little more confident than a few seconds earlier.

[dain]

Dain let Pendragon lead him into a vice, then accepted the kick to his Adam's apple graciously as he went with the force of the blow, peventing any sort of substantial injury to himself. He grinded his stomach as force blooded came up his windpipe and he coughed it out as to fake the injury. He wheezed falsely, to give the boy satisfaction of his blow.

"That....was....good." Dain said slowly, giving Pendragon false dignity.

I might just be able to have fun now.

Dain stood himself up and cracked his neck from side to side, stretching it out to lossen himself up, just in case of another impact like that. Pendragon seemed a bit more confident since that hit, but Dain knew well, confidence was a silent enemy. Quickly Dain rushed forward as he went lower for a sweep kick, his back leg sliding across the ground rapidly until he missed on purpose and used the momentum to rise in the air, his foot now speeding toward Pendragon's neck. However, it wasn't meant to be a hit. Dain's foot hooked aorund Pen's neck as he swung around hte boy's body from pure momentum and flung himself upward, flipping into the air and landing sweetly on top of Pendragon's head without a sound nor shift of weight, then a moment later, he backflipped off and shot his elbow straight to the middle of Pendragon's spine, connecting lightly enough for Pendragon to know, but not for it to hurt. Dain backed off, ever moving as he started the ginga, a sort of swaying movement for the base of Capoeira.

"I'll change myself up a bit and go from my other arts, if you don't mind. I haven't employed my other training focuses." Dain spoke, a smile upon his face.