From Sea to Sky

f o u r t e e n | s k y e

Skye wipes the sweat off his brow quickly, readjusting his grip on his sparring sword. "How about whoever wins this last duel, takes all."

Bryan lunges forward with his sword, and Skye sidesteps quickly, a grin already on his face. "Deal, but I think you're going to regret that offer."

"Oh yeah?" Skye laughs and feints towards his neck, but deftly swings his sword down towards his leg. "What makes you say that?"

He swiftly blocks Skye's strike, and says with effort, "Because I'm about to win this one."

Bryan tries to take advantage of the low position of Skye's sword, striking upwards. He catches the sword inches from his face and they fall into a stalemate, both fighting against one another's blade in a test of strength, their faces only inches apart.

Skye grins at the challenge however, and makes sure to look Bryan in the eyes as he hisses. "Then beat me."

Defiance lighting up his eyes, Bryan thrusts his weight forwards, hoping to catch Skye by surprise by this sudden change in strength. Moving backwards with his momentum however, he finds himself easily evading his attack, and he continues back until they're at a safe distance from each other. Realizing that now, one of them has to move forward and attack, both of them assess strategies while circling each other, not breaking eye contact. Then Bryan smirks slightly, and holds himself higher, as if he has just found the perfect strategy to win.

With a yell, Bryan charges at him and he steps forward to meet the attack. He tries to strike Skye in rapid succession, hoping that at least one of his attacks will stick, but he blocks them with ease. It's as if Bryan's movements have slowed down, and he can see them all well in advance. He starts to smile, feeling confident that he can win. He moves from defense to offense, and starts his attack, moving his sword effortlessly with no apparent pattern to the untrained eye.

Sensing the change of pace, Bryan's eyes widen and he starts to move backwards, trying to fall back, but Skye won't let him. He keeps coming at him blow after blow, until all he can do is block the attacks he rains down. His movements become more desperate and more frustrated. Skye is going to defeat him any moment now.

Then he looks up at Skye and manages to say. "How's Lana doing, Skye?"

Stunned, he feels his body freeze, and Bryan doesn't waste the opportunity. He quickly slices at his undefended arm, and kicks out with his right leg. Skye's legs are swept from beneath him and he falls to the ground hard, smacking the back of his head against the hard floor. His vision darkens for a moment and he groans, but is not willing to give up yet. He raises his head and blindly searches for his sword but quickly stops and sighs.

Bryan is pointing the tip of his sword against the soft flesh of his neck with a triumphant smirk. "What were you saying about not winning?"

"Get your sword out of my face," Skye snaps and he lifts it away, offering a hand to help him up. He ignores it and pushes himself onto his feet without help, the sting of losing still fresh on his mind. And more importantly, why he lost.

As he stands, his head starts to pound incessantly, but he ignores the feeling as the vertigo quickly fades. It's the pain in his arm that is really bothering him. The dull throb on my arm escalates to a sharp pain, making him wince at the sensation, and he looks down at his wound, finding a bloody rip in his tunic. Biting his lip, he slowly peels back the wet clothing and sighs as he finds a cut along his bicep. It's not deep, but blood already runs in rivers down his arm.

"I'm sorry about that;" Bryan says suddenly, with a surprised expression, and moves forward with wide eyes. "We should get you to the healer."

At any other time, Skye would have agreed with him. He knows that he needs to be in top condition for the battle that lies in front of him, but he feels a sudden rush of anger at Bryan's words. "Why did you bring up Lana?"