cyclicality | Welcome to Republic City!

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Welcome to Republic City!

It was a bright and sunny normal day in Republic City. Children were playing, spirits were chirping about, and everything was going along like normal. Well at least that's what everyone seemed to think. That is until so many people seemed to be appearing out of nowhere. For some reason Republic City seemed to be more lively and the crowds bigger.

The spirits have grown restless as if something important was about to change, and to try to fix that change, the spirits with their big long tree like limbs dragged people into the world left and right. Even the vines covering Republic City seemed to help. Although the spirits had the best intentions in mind, some people were more affected by the grab than others. There's talk that people in this city don't even know what this place is. People who have never heard of the words "bender" or "non-bender."

Welcome to Republic City! And to those who already live here: Happy Saturday. Please make yourselves at home and don't mind a little spirit gunk. It's mostly harmless. Go enjoy yourself a classic mover. Maybe you're the athletic type. If that's the case, come watch a few Pro-bending matches or form your own team. Just watch out for any Satomobiles. They can be deadly no matter how pretty the driver is.

Please remember to enjoy your stay and don't cause too much trouble. The Republic City Police don't need more riffraff to take care of. And don't stray too far. To make the the peace is kept, there's a huge spirit barrier around the perimeter of the city. It seems pretty strong, but it won't be able to last forever. Still, it's worrying. Radio signals and telegraphs don't seem to be getting past it.

[ OOC: The game is officially open! From this point on, feel free to make any posts you want or tag into this. Please remember to tag your posts with Canon: Character. Finally, although the game has no real network, you're free to respond with prose or brackets, whatever you're comfortable with. With that said, have fun! ]

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Honestly? Lloyd had been paying a little more attention to the dog than to his surroundings when Yuri had first spoken up. He really should know better (especially after all those lectures from Kratos), but... well... It's still pretty easy for him to get distracted.

Taking those barks for the greeting they probably are, Lloyd smiles and nods. "It's nice to meet you, Repede." He turns to Yuri. "You, too." Another curious glance at the guy's katana. "Are you a mercenary?"

No, he doesn't really have the tact to be more circumspect than that.

There's a blink at the rather forward question that comes from the boy.

"Huh? A mercenary?"

He then waved his hand dismissively. Not at all offended by Lloyd's assumption. He can easily see why someone would think that. Not many people go around toting a sword like he does.

"Naw, it's not like that."

He then gives Lloyd a once over.

"What about you, Red?"

Considering the question Lloyd just asked him based on the fact that he was armed, it's easily fair enough to turn that question back on him. Twice as fair, in fact, since he's carrying two blades!

Hush, math totally works like that.

"Lloyd," he corrects. "And I'm just a traveler," he says with a shrug. "It's not a good idea to go around unarmed when you're on the road." Especially not the places he tends to go. Exspheres often aren't in nice, convenient places that are free of monsters, and there's always a risk of bandits no matter what road you're on. "So if you're not a mercenary, does that mean you're a traveler, too?"

That's... some interesting logic you've got there Lloyd. But hey, Yuri won't judge. He can't claim to be a math whiz himself. School was never a fun thing for him.

At the question though, Yuri puts a hand to his chin in thought.

"Huh."

A traveler? Well, he hadn't been back in Ba Sing Se, but he did travel here, didn't he?

"Yeah, I guess I am."

Edited 2014-10-10 19:36 (UTC)

There we go. Mystery solved! And now that Lloyd's curiosity has been satisfied, he sees no reason to question Yuri about it any further. Travelers being armed is normal and reasonable.

Never mind that almost no one else in the city is wearing anything he recognizes as a weapon at all.

No, the only question he has now is: "Are you any good with it?"

Yuri had a feeling that question would be coming next. Yuri's smirk broadened and he gave a shrug of his shoulders.

"There's only one way to find out, right?"

Lloyd's face splits into a grin of his own when it becomes obvious they're on the same line of thought. "That's what I was thinking, too. Is there someplace we could spar?"

They probably don't want to fight in the middle of the street in a crowded city like this.

"Yeah, I think I know a place."

And with that, Yuri motions for Lloyd to follow him, Repede moving to his side as they head down the street.

He'll eventually take them to the park. If there's any place in the city that has wide open spaces, this would be the one.

Lloyd doesn't know the city at all, so he's willing to follow Yuri, trusting that the other man knows a good spot for a spar. He's not disappointed when they reach their destination. Plenty of open space between the trees, only split on occasion by a winding path or stream. When they stop, Lloyd takes a good look around, then nods, quite pleased. Yeah, this'll do nicely for a spar!

First things first, though. They need some ground rules.

"This is just a spar, so... Disarming or yielding ends the fight?" Then a sobering reminder of what happened to him earlier in the day prompts him to add, "No Artes." He doesn't know what's wrong with his mana, but he figures now isn't a good time to press it.

Once they'd found a nice clear spot in the grass, Yuri stopped and turned to face Lloyd. While Yuri is definitely okay with no rules at all, he gets that not everybody is like that and nods.

"Yeah, sure, no problem."

It takes a little bit of the fun out of it but whatever.

But then there was a pause at the next part. "Artes?" What the heck is he talking about? The clueless look on Yuri's face making it pretty obvious that he has no clue what those are. Repede huffed and settled himself down in the grass beneath the shade of a tree. You boys have fun, he'll just hang out over here.

A beat of hesitation follows that question, the uncertainty of Does he really not know? "Mana techniques," Lloyd clarifies, watching Yuri's face now. "You know, things you can do with your energy to boost your fighting or skills." Could be Yuri just called it something else.

Either way, Lloyd draws his swords, preparing for the fight to start. He adjusts his stance, remembering all the times Kratos got on his case for sloppy footwork. He doesn't know how good Yuri is, but he figures he shouldn't take any chances by underestimating him.

There's a slow blink, and then Yuri scratches at his head in bewilderment, followed by a shrug.

"Never heard of it."

But the drawing of a sword was definitely a language that Yuri could speak. So with a smirk, he tossed his sword up to grab it by the hilt with one hand. Then with a swing of his arm, flung the scabbard from the blade.

Repede watched as it flew several feet away and landed in the grass. The dog just yawned and laid his head on his paws.

Oh. Huh. Well, that's not all that implausible. Most people don't have enough mana for Artes unless they have an Exsphere, so maybe Yuri's just never met someone with one. They are getting less common now that Lloyd's been hunting Exspheres and getting rid of them, and if he was from Sylvarant before the world was reunited, there definitely wouldn't be as many people for him to meet who had them - most of them Desians. People tended to avoid Desians whenever possible.

Armed with that reasonable explanation, it's easy to just accept Yuri's claim. Lloyd relaxes just a little. "Then I guess we'll be even." Or they will be if he can just remember that his body is weakened right now.

His eyes follow the scabbard's flight, blinking in surprise, before he shrugs to himself. Guess Yuri doesn't like his scabbard slapping his leg. Which can definitely be a pain, Lloyd admits, though at least he doesn't have to collect his scabbards and strap them back on after every fight.

Focusing back on Yuri, he nods. "Alright, let's begin!" He waits just a heartbeat, so he's not taking advantage of being the one to call start, then launches himself forward with a quick swing of one sword to test Yuri's defense.

Yuri never carries his sword at his side anyway. Lloyd might have noticed that he just carried it with his hand by a strap. He's just a bit reckless when it comes to his sword.

The man then takes a stance, waiting for Lloyd to make his attack, which he does. His reflexes are quick and his single blade is raised to block the one sword, though Yuri is very well aware that he's got two there. A little smirk on his face. So he's testing the water is he?

With a shove, he pushes back against Lloyd's sword and jumps back. With a twirl of his sword, Yuri sizes up his opponent and then rushes back in. He's not going to be so tentative about it. A steady swing is made, followed by another, and another. His feet nimbly carrying him across the ground as he darts from side to side, aiming to dodge Lloyd's attempts at retaliation. His intent to keep the other guy on his toes. Yuri's not patient enough to wait for Lloyd to get his bearings and test him out. A fight is a fight, and if it were real, he wouldn't have the time for that.

Yeah, Yuri is serious when it comes to fights, intense even. That's what you get for deciding to spar with a fighting addict. And he's wearing a smile the entire time.

He's fast!

And indeed, Lloyd barely has time to get that first impression before he's busy deflecting Yuri's strikes. Fortunately for him, he does have two swords, allowing him to defend with either hand if the other isn't in a good position. It means thinking a whole lot more, being prepared to use either sword, and not tangling his own swords together if he doesn't angle one right, but honestly, that kind of focus is something he's a whole lot better with in a fight than he's ever been in a classroom. He grins, matching Yuri, when he pushes the other's sword back.

Oh yeah, he's good. Good enough that Lloyd doesn't have to hold back! Time to step it up a notch.

The next attack from Lloyd comes with both swords flashing - one low and one high. Let's see how Yuri handles that!

That's precisely what Yuri thought. It took a lot more skill and brain power to use two swords simultaneously. In some ways it gave an edge and others it was a hindrance. Thus he kept moving, to keep Lloyd on his toes. But Yuri was not only fast, he was flexible too. When his sword was pushed back, Yuri put a couple feet between them, watching those two blades carefully. As they both came at him, Yuri half turned, his arm bending up to hold his sword behind his shoulder. The blade held vertically behind his back to block both of Lloyd's.

There was a mischievous glint in Yuri's eyes and a half cocked grin. He then pushed back and pulled his blade away. A loud shriek of metal against metal as the blades slid against each other. Yuri then flipped his sword behind his back.

What's he doing?

The sword flipping through the air upward and diagonally until he caught it with his right hand. Then turning back around, Yuri attacked with a vicious upward slice. Aiming to knock one of Lloyd's swords out of his hand.

All this movement happening in a matter of seconds.

Edited 2014-11-09 00:40 (UTC)

What is he-

But even as he's questioning Yuri's sanity, Lloyd's not about to pass up an opportunity like this. He lunges forward, fully intent on taking advantage of Yuri disarming himself. Unfortunately, he's not fast enough to land his attack before Yuri's sword is back in his hand and oh shit-!

"Whoa!" Lloyd squawks when he's nearly impaled then and there, only saved by a last minute twist that leaves him too off balance, too vulnerable, and he knows it. In desperation, he gathers his mana for a hurried Beast, trying to fling the energy at Yuri to push him back before the other swordsman can take advantage of his mistake. He's forgotten his own stipulation on Artes in the face of self-preservation.

Except once again, no mana comes to his call. To Yuri's eyes, the whole move will look like an inelegant attempt to block. Lloyd's eyes widen when nothing happens, Yuri's blade flashing toward him fast. Metal crashes, and Lloyd just isn't prepared. The next second, one sword goes flying from his grip.

Yuri had expected to catch Lloyd off guard but... this is a bit much? What was the kid even trying to do? It looked like he was trying to attack but was really off the mark. Well... he wasn't going to complain! At least not too much.

The ring of metal as the swords clash is a satisfying sound, especially as the sword goes sailing, end over end through the air. And with Lloyd off balance, Yuri sticks out his foot, intending to trip him up. If he can keep the kid off balance, he can bring a swift end to this.

Lloyd might have been caught off guard and at a disadvantage because of his handicap, but that doesn't mean this is over, Yuri. If there's one thing Kratos drilled him mercilessly on that doesn't rely on using mana, it's maintaining and keeping aware of his footing, and of things that would interfere with that. He sees the foot coming, and while he's too off balance to sidestep it, he's in a perfect position to flip over it - almost starting the opening steps of one of his Tempest techniques, but only at the last second reining in that instinct. It's just a normal flip, letting him land more securely on both feet.

But still down to just one sword. Damn it, damn it, damn it! He slashes at Yuri, trying to keep him back. Maybe if he can buy enough time to get his other sword. It doesn't look like it's going to land too far away. No way he'll be able to reach it before it falls, though. Not without turning his back on Yuri, and no way is he going to do that.

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Welcome to Republic City!

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