The Spar [CLOSED]

This is a spar between Kestrel and Zestari, intended to give the combat system a test before approving it for normal thread use. Feel free to come in, place your bets on Kestrel to win and make comments or ask questions as we spar.

Shutter has agreed to 'Umpire' the fight and will deal with rolls such as readyness that the on-site dice system cannot handle. Combat rolls between Kes and Zesty will be handled using the on site rolling system, so there is no fudging of rolls.

Hopefully that's housework out of the way.

Let's go!

Zestari entered the lightly sanded bowl of the arena. She was very nervous, not entirely sure what had possessed her to ask Kestrel to spar with her. Perhaps it was the desire to challenge herself, perhaps she just trusted Kestrel seeing as he was a long time friend of hers. Perhaps it was the hope that she would be able to learn from the veteran griffon perhaps it was simply a case of over self-confidence. Something she was severely regretting as she nervously paced and stretched.

The agreement had been made - no armour, no weapons, it would be clean and simple. If at any opponent was incapable of continuing the fight, called out for an end, or the opponent deemed it unsuitable to continue, the spar would be over.

Zestari would be calling upon her knowledge of Prancing Shadow to help her against the sheer odds facing her against Kestrel.

For now she waited for her large griffon friend to arrive.

Character fight details:

Spoiler:

(( These items may change when I submit my final character revision))

Kestrel silently made his way down the hall that lead out and into the arena proper. Memories of his time in Filly flashed through his mind. How many times had he walked down a hall to fight? How many times had he limped away down on of these dark, empty halls focused purely on survival?

To many really.

As he left the hall and entered into the light, the cheering of a imaginary crowd flooded his ears. Cries of 'Kill 'em!' 'Rip her to shreds!' and other such obscenities filled his mind...but only for a moment. As soon as Kestrels eyes locked on his 'opponent' the griffons mind calmed down and he pushed back the horrors of the past, and instead caught back up with the times.

He wasn't here to tear Zestari asunder, or spill innocent blood for the sake of sport. No he was here because Zestari...because his friend had asked him to come here and spar with her. He still remembered the look on her face as she had asked him, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't surprised that she had asked him to do this.

Few folk willingly engaged Kestrel in unarmed combat after all.

Still Zestari had said she was sure, and Kestrel had agreed after a bit of convincing.

Unlike her, Kestrel knew no formal styles of martial arts. He based his knowledge off of years of trial and error, and his own predatory instincts. Some of his usual moves he'd have to leave out of this spar, such as throat tears, eye gouges, neck snaps, and bone breaks. They were not appropriate for this 'friendly' spar. He knew the rules of this engagement, and he would be following them to the letter.

Walking over towards Zestari Kestrel offered his usual greeting, a low bow of his head and a single spoken word.

"Greetings" he said, tone bordering on serene.

He took this time to look Zestari over in a bit more detail. She looked nervous, panicked. No doubt that would affect her performance in the ring.

If anything, Kestrels calm demeanour as he entered the arena and made his predatory stalk over towards her only made her more nervous. Kestrel knew what he was doing, he was a fighter, he knew what to do, how to act and how to prepare. She didn’t. She was out of her depth. She dealt with medicine and healing and making complicated potions and poultices. Heck, she’d pulled as many bullets out of ponies as she’d ever fired.

She nodded her head at his greeting, “Hi Kestrel,” her voice quiet, “thank you for agreeing to this.” With a respectful bow of her head she turned on the sand and retreated a short distance away and scuffed at the sand indicating she was ready.

(GW roll for Readyness, will use the first digit of the d100.)

The member 'Zestari' has done the following action : Chance Roll

'Chance Roll' : 96

Seeing that his opponent was taking up her position Kestrel shifted back, and assumed his own relaxed, ready stance. His body stood still, like a wall, unmoving, unshaking as his cold gaze locked on Zestari's own; analyzing her. His scarred hide was left exposed for all to see, the countless markings overlapping and fighting to tell their tales; tales of war, of suffering, of experience.

All that remained of his usual attire was his mask, and that really offered naught in the terms of protection. It remained more out of habit than anything else, and should this spar be drawn out, he might even lose it.

Zestari had seen his face before however, so the thought of that happening was not as unacceptable as it should be. Perhaps this would even be a goal for his opponent to achieve? Only time would tell.

(Same procedure as Zestari, Alertness buffing perception to 10 due to standing still)

The member 'Kestrel' has done the following action : Chance Roll

'Chance Roll' : 58

For a few long seconds nothing happened between the two, Kestrel seemingly frozen in place; unmoving, unblinking, unflinching. Then, without any warning at all, Kestrel pushed forward and lashed out with twin violent, yet precise, blows.

The first came in the form of a swift punch aimed squarely at Zestari's chest, the next came followed quickly behind its brother, this one aimed at the side of the mare's head. He was careful not to get carried away in his attacks, moderating his strength, and as always he kept his gaze locked on his opponent.

The last thing he wanted was for Zestari to rear back with a counter, or worse yet, leave himself totally open for an attack.


(Using precise strike on each, which for an additional 5 AP per attack, provides a +20 to hit. Striking once at the chest, once at the head. 18 AP expended, 22 AP remains.)

The member 'Kestrel' has done the following action : Chance Roll

'Chance Roll' : 59, 20

Attack to the chest: HIT!
Attack to the head: HIT!
HP: 214 – 78 = 136

As the fight began, Zestari stood there watching Kes, her muscles taut and ready to act. Or so she thought. Kes moved swiftly, much faster than she had expected, closing the gap and making two swift blows before she could prepare. The one to her head only stung sending her reeling slightly, but the blow to her chest stole the wind from her and causing her to stagger slightly.

Quickly trying to regain some composure, she slid backwards in the sand and slipped into the Receding Shadow stance to make her harder to hit. She then pirouetted on her front hooves, spun and lashed out with three Flick kicks. Finishing the pirouette she lashed out with a regular hoofstrike.

AP = 39
Receding Shadow = 8AP
Flick kick x3 = 24AP
Unarmed attack = 4AP

The member 'Zestari' has done the following action : Chance Roll

#1 'Chance Roll' : 80, 63, 66

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#2 'Chance Roll' : 19

Kestrel pushed forward, trying his best to keep close to Zestari. Letting an opponent get range was often a lethal mistake, one that many beginners often made.

Keeping close kept the pressure on Zestari, and the more pressure she was under the less she could attack.

In theroy.

The theroy was poven wrong however as just as Kestrel began to once more draw within unarmed range of his opponent the slippery Zebra lashed out in a violent series of strikes.

Kestrel cocked his head to the side to avoid the first incoming hoof, eaisly dodging it. The second was a bit trickier to avoid but Kestrel managed, Zestari's hoof scraping against his feathers as he rolled to the side.

He had just risen up onto his feet again, ready to strike back himself, when Zestari's third attack found purchase. Her hoof landed against Kestrel with a loud thud, a low grunt came from him as he spun, letting the momentum of the kick dissipate some of its energy before he came about full circle.

Damn...that had actually hurt a bit.

Pushing the thought from his head Kestrel refocused and shifted his stance just a bit. Crouching low, and exhaling slowly Kestrel watched as Zestari got ahead of herself and threw a rather sloppy punch his way. It was eaisly avoided, and left the mare open.

Kestrel would show her the error of that mistake.

Pushing forward, into the mares 'bubble' and bringing his head down in a hard slam; a headbutt as most knew it. It'd leave him with a slight ache on the brain but Kestrel could deal with it.

Especially if the attack hit and Kestrel would be able to shift his weight and bring his fist swinging up into and uppercut, aimed right at the mares chin.

Hopefully those two attacks would be enough to stun Zestari for Kestrels next, and final move for this round. Spinning around and pushing himself up onto his forelegs, Kestrel aimed his hind legs backwards and then bucked backwards with a force that would make a hydraulic piston jelous.

Unarmed attack x2 = 8 AP
Buck = 18 AP, +10 to roll
Remaining AP = 14

The member 'Kestrel' has done the following action : Chance Roll

#1 'Chance Roll' : 21, 100

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#2 'Chance Roll' : 48

Headbutt: Miss
Uppercut: CRIT!
Buck: Hit!
HP: 162 – (52 +52) = 58

Zestari knew she’d overdone it with the final hoof punch, and as Kestrel closed back in close to her following the blow, it was clear he knew it too.

The smooth silken movement of the Receding Shadow helped her dodge Kes’ head as he lunged towards her; however she was unprepared for the follow up blow. With a loud sharp crack of her jaw, her head snapped back and she tumbled back, head over hooves, never expecting the taloned fist of Kestrel that swung up and connected with her jaw. It was only due to her long hours of practice that she managed to land on her hooves, and even vaguely in a martial arts stance.

Still dazed, and disoriented from the force of the blow to her jaw, the next attack from Kestrel connected without incident, an aggressive bucking move that collided savagely with her side, causing her to lose her breath and be forced backwards a short distance.

Again, it was perhaps her determination to not show weakness in front of Kestrel as much as her talent in zebra martial arts that allowed her to keep to her hooves. She took a couple of ragged breaths, as she tried to focus, desperately wanting to re-engage the griffon but came to very definite, and to her, saddening conclusion.

With a shaky forehoof, she raised it in concession. The fight had only lasted moments, but she knew she was beaten. In fact she was hurt badly. Her entire head throbbed with intense pain centred in her jaw, it seemed displaced, and she spat a wad of blood out. She’d bitten her tongue when Kestrel had hit her. The motion to spit sent a flare of pain through her head and she winced. Her knowledge in medicine told her that her jaw was most likely broken. Hopefully it was a clean break and not shattered. With the sheer pain throbbing through her skull she daren’t find out now.

She went to begin to make her way out of the arena, with the plan to head to the Stableton hospital, except, as she went to take a step, a sudden flare of pain in one side of her chest stabbed into her and she stumbled. Broken ribs she thought numbly, and sat down, resting upon her haunches.

She would need a stretcher or something similar unless she wanted to risk puncturing her lung by making her own way to medical assistance. Not only that but with her head in a state of agony, she wasn’t even sure how she would fair trying to get to the hospital under her own effort.

Somewhat miserable, she waited for assistance. Not even sure she could look Kestrel in the eye at what she considered a feeble effort.

To say he was not impressed would have been a lie. Kestrel watched as Zestari tried her best to keep standing, to keep focused, to keep fighting. Her body however was just not able to do it.

Kestrel knew that feeling, he knew it very, very well. And that alone was a good step in earning his respect.

What honestly earned it from him however was her ability to even remain conscious after the blows she had been dealt. Few in the wastelands could do such a thing, fewer still could do it and have the energy to stay conscious.

Silently the big black griffon slid out of his combat stance and began to walk over towards the mare on the ground. She looked dejected, unwilling to look into his eyes.

Unlike her however Kestrel had no such qualms; his frigidly serene gaze locked onto her and did not waver for a second. It was almost like he was going to attack again.

For a long while he stood there over here, gazing down in his usual intimidating way; silent and unmoving, before without warning the big black griffon bowed his head lowly in respect and knelled down.

"You did well." he said, motioning for Zestari to get on his back. He knew that she was not in the best shape to move, but that is why he had offered to carry her himself.

"Come. Your wounds won't heal themselves."

Zestari noticed Kestrel walking over and averted her eyes from the griffon, not entirely sure why he was coming over. Perhaps to ensure her injuries weren’t too severe? She wondered, painfully coughing and spitting out another crimson wad of blood. He closed in, until only a few inches separated the two.

As Kestrel stood there overshadowing her, she felt her ears drop against her head, she suspected that she must have bitterly disappointed him. Somehow that thought hurt more than her injuries

She finally looked at him, catching his intense gaze as he looked straight at her. Then he knelt down beside her and bowed his head, and Zestari watched him with a slight case of confusion and puzzlement before realisation finally came to her.

She made a noise, before remembering her broken jaw and instead gave a half nod in return to the griffon. With someone she trusted as much as Kestrel, she knew the gesture to be genuine and even through the pain, she felt her heart soar a bit and her ears return to their normal erect position. She wasn’t sure why he was showing her respect. Perhaps it was simply the fact that she had stood firm with her request to spar with the griffon, perhaps it was the fact that she hadn’t foolishly pushed it further than she could cope with. The reason was inscrutable to her, but unknown to the griffon, meant the world to her.

"You did well."

She wanted to thank the griffon, but never expected him to offer to carry her to get assistance. The gesture summed up why she had asked him of everyone she knew in the wasteland to spar. It wasn’t just because he was a good fighter. It was because she trusted him utterly. The griffon wasn’t always forward with his emotion or thoughts, but Zestari considered him amongst the greatest of her friends. The pair had seen much together, she’d helped dress and treat his wounds several times and come to his assistance whenever she could in the many incidents of combat they'd been in, he also, in her mind, had done everything he could to protect her from those that would do her harm or threaten her. His stern and cautious nature had also taught her much on how to survive in the harsh wasteland.

As bad or as tough as things got if they sparred, she knew and trusted that Kestrel would do the best for her he could in whatever circumstance and direction the spar would take, but would still take her seriously where others might mock or dismiss her request. She knew her talents focused in medicine and alchemy and not generally in combat. Kestrel knew that, but had not turned her request down. The fact that he hadn’t only reinforced her faith in him as a true friend.

Slowly she shuffled right over to him and trying to minimise inconvenience to the griffon began to climb onto his back.

Between her bitten tongue and her swollen and broken jaw, trying to say anything was impossible, so she instead resolved herself to giving him a slight hug, hoping he would understand what the simple gesture of affection was for. Then she lay down, awkwardly slung across the griffon’s back trying to protect her injured side. She’d been here before in somewhat different circumstances but needing his assistance then, too.

Through laboured breaths, she nudged him and made a sound to let him know she was as prepared and as settled as she could be.

The sudden warmth and weight upon his back told Kestrel that his offer had been taken. It was...comforting to feel something such as that. He had never been one for physical contact, but lately he had been allowing himself to open up and let a select few in; past the wall he had built up after so many years.

Zestari was one of those select few.

As she hugged him he felt his muscles stiffen a bit, a subconscious reaction from days gone by. It wasn't as bad as it normally was though, it was...softer in a way. As if to reassure Zestari that Kestrel was there to help...not to hurt. Not to kill.

Hearing a low gurgle from behind him Kestrel slowly pushed himself up onto his feet and then began to walk. His movements were slow and measured so as to prevent any unnecessary motion or vibration. With a set of broken ribs, and her jaw, any such motions would have been excruciating. Kestrel knew that pain, he knew it very well. He did not want Zestari to feel that pain more than she had too.

Walking out of the Arena Kestrel gave one last turn of his head, the imaginary crowd from before now cheering for Kestrel's victory. Memories flickered through his eyes as he stood there silently for just a few more moments before he turned and began walking away. His destination? The closest medical facility, with competent staff, he could find.

The fight was over now, the 'battle' won. It was time to move along, heal the wounds of those that had fallen, and then find the next battlefield.