Sebastian Vael's through waffling (andrastian) wrote in angellogs, @ 2020-05-02 00:53:00 |
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Current mood: | pleased |
Who: Noah, Sebastian
When: Current
Where: Practice yard, Craigcrook Castle, Edinburgh, Scotland
What: Some archery and swordplay is going on.
Rating/Warnings: Mild innuendo about sharing a shower
Status: Complete
Noah's wearing short sleeves and some slightly dusty practice trousers. "So, check my bracers? I don't want to slap my arm with a bowstring."
“Definitely not.” Sebastian agrees, wincing. “That hurts. A lot.” He grins. “I was thirteen when I started and an idiot. It happened. Thankfully, my grandfather didn’t laugh and say he told me so, though he COULD have.” He moves around to check the buckles on it and tugs a little. “That feels tight enough. Can you move it all right? Nothing cutting into it? “
Noah grins. "Feels all right. So - show me how to do this? Do I stand like this?"
“Let’s see now.” Sebastian studies him a moment. “You want your feet to be about the width of your shoulders, and you’re going to stand sideways to the target, like this…” He demonstrates that, “And then you’re going to turn, just at your waist, your feet stay where they are.”
Noah obeys and raises the bow. "Like this? How do I hold my hands?"
“That’s going to depend a little on your bow, but for a recurve, like you’ve got there, your reach is going to be a bit different..” Sebastian steps around behind Noah. “You’ll want to hold here with your bow arm...I’d say on you…” He’s gently tugging at Noah’s arm a little. “And then your draw arm you’re going to slip your arrow on the string between these two fingers.” He’s nodding at Noah’s ring finger and the middle one. For now…you can give it a little tug. Not to full draw, that’s really bad for it, but get a feel at about half the length or so? This one’s only at a draw of about fifteen pounds so it shouldn’t be too weird to work with here.”
"Feels lighter then then one they first tested me on." Noah automatically leans back a little against Sebastian as he leans. "is that the way to put it? Less stiff." He tries carefully doing a partial draw? Whatever the term would be. "Where do you look for aiming?"
“Definitely not one that you’d use for much but training.” Sebastian nods. “I’d start my raw beginner squires at around ten, to give you an idea. I didn’t want it pinging back on you too badly.” And he’s nodding at Noah there. “You want to look where you’re aiming for, mostly. Look between the arrow tip and your target there. And you’ll want to keep both eyes open. Some say to shut one of them, but I’ve never found it works well.”
Noah nods. "Like so? Can you show me the motion to let go of the arrow and the string?" He's experimenting a bit with the draw, and getting confident with his grip. "I can feel this in my shoulders."
“Ah that one is more of a practiced bit with yours...you have to sort of let it roll…” Sebastian moves to show him a little bit of a quick tug and release. “Honestly, for this, it’s almost best to use a glove instead of that finger tab you’ve got. They take more getting used to when you’ve got a feel for it. Sometimes I’ve shot it bare, but I’ve got a LOT more calluses built up. Sort of how gripping a sword would be far more irritating for me than you.”
"I'm up for gloves. Do we have a pair here - this pair?" Noah moves to get them. "Do you want to have a bit of sword play, or shall we call it after a bit of shooting? Assuming I manage some."
“Those should work.” Sebastian nods. “And the leather’s a bit smoother so letting go is going to be easier. And well, why not? What’s the thing they toss around in ancient books...what’s good for the goose is good for the gander?” Then he laughs. “I’m not sure which I’m implying I am in this. I think I have a slightly longer neck, perhaps.”
"I love . . . taking a gander at you?" Noah's first shot falls short, but it's not horrible. "Huh. What's the rules for heading to pick up your arrow? Any proper etiquette?"
Sebastian smiles. “Depends on where you are and who’s with you. Obviously, you don’t want to run out when someone else may be shooting. When there’s competitions, like the grand tourney in Thedas, they ask that you wait until a marshal clears it for you to go and fetch them. I tend to shoot through a quiver first when I take practice shots, and on an actual battlefield, well…” He winces a little. “I don’t much like pulling them out of anyone who’s been left behind unless I BADLY need them back. Seems like it adds insult to injury.”
"I'd prefer to pass on that. So - I suppose - We try again?" Noah carefully took aim again. "Something like - that?"
“Definitely best avoided.” Sebastian laughs. “Andraste has no problem when needs must be done, but here and now, I cannot for the life of me imagine we would need to switch. Good thing considering that.” He nods toward the bow.
“A target shooting version like that one? It’s VERY different in terms of damages that can be done. It’d likely glance off anyone who happened be close. Unless it was..” He shrugs. “A mouse or something, I suppose. Frankly if you can track and shoot a mouse, then you’ll have been blessed with amazing sight and honed your reflexes to a point I’m jealous of.”
"Hardly. I'm brute force. Balthier's more the better aim." Noah takes aim again, and hits the target this time. He's slow, and definitely not pulling as far as he could, but he's clearly trying to learn how to do it as much as he's trying to actually hit the target. "Can I watch you do this once? It'd help for mirroring your moves."
Sebastian laughs. “Brute force, eh no? It’s funny, I’ve not seen you that way so it’s harder to imagine. Obviously you’ve done it, but I suppose I think of you as more…” He shrugs a bit. “Ready to defend if needed but not quite BRUTISH about it. Then again, Fenris and Aveline were much the same and it was the same sort of thing.” He smiles a little.
“Actually, Aveline and you would get along. She’s sensible to the most amazing degree, given the madness that was all around us. And ready to defend at a moment’s notice. A lot like you at that. She lost everything once, and did her damndest to protect the new things that had found her. And managed to be sensible at me, even when I didn’t deserve it. Talked me out of my attempted coup before too much damage was done.”
He watches, smiling, and gives Noah a nod. “I’d be glad to show you, then.”
"I try for sensible." Noah smiles stepping back to watch him. "Thank you for showing me this. It's amazing to see archery in a context that isn't an army trying to see what I can manage."
Sebastian laughs. “THAT must have been a sight to be sure.” He’s slipping into position, checking his feet, since he’s going for a more standard position here, even though, honestly, he’s been known to slip into a variety of them.
“And well, I do love it. It’s been a while since I’ve done shooting with someone else around. Aedan and Ellie used to join sometimes, but…”
"They've had a lot on their minds of late." Noah mimics Sebastian's pose. "Where's your weight? More in the back? It is a pretty steady feeling stance."
“Well, and Ellie’s not quite here so much.” Sebastian nods. “When she’s around, there’s usually more to be done, and even now, her wrist does not exactly permit. And Aedan...that was more to be kind than out of anything he liked. It wouldn’t be right to force him further.”
He’s nodding. “You’re going to put the weight there to start, in the back, and push off from it a bit.”
Noah tries it and works through the rest of his quiver. He's definitely not amazing, but - competent. "That's fascinating. Thank you. Shall we gather up the arrows? Do you want to do another run without me asking questions the entire time?" He's cheerful and relaxed now, after the workout.
“You’ve got a decent form.” Sebastian says, smiling. “And let’s do both of those.” He does want to look good for a bit before he absolutely looks like a fool with a sword. Hopefully, he won’t end up flailing, hmm?
Noah peels off his gloves and takes a seat to watch Sebastian. "I feel a lot less gawky as an adult. It's fascinating."
“Do you?” Sebastian smiles. “Sounds nice. It must have been odd at first. “ He’s slipping into his own form and falling silent as he studies his target, and nocks his first arrow before letting fly.
"Well, I tested bows, and crossbows. Guns. Aim wasn't great, which I suspect is that I'd be better with reading glasses." Noah's watching Sebastian as much as he's watching the arrows. "We do not have to do sword work, if you do not want. It's pleasant, doing this with each other."
“Guns.” Sebastian winces. “Those do NOT interest me at all. Haytham and Shay have attempted to convince me to give them a go, but something holds me back. They do have Liam learning more modern ones, which seems to be satisfying for some reason. And this is nice. I don’t mind coming along to that.”
"Well, the ones in Archades were more - complex bits of stuff that you'd make. Also dangerous. Not as mass produced as the ones now, unless you got a basic army model." Noah hms. "Then we can try that, when you're done."
“Liam’s either, from what he’s said about it. Very…”Sebastian considers. “He says his world was quite steampunk. I’ve seen pictures of the style if you ken what I’m getting at. FAR from mass produced, aye. You do have me picturing pirates, love. Considering Balthier’s past life career, I suppose it’s fitting enough for some version of that world.”
And he’s letting his last arrow fly, then going to pick them up. “Sounds like a plan.”
"Bath afterwards?" Noah stretches his back and helps clean up.
“I think that may be a good idea.” Sebastian nods. “Since we’re moving on to swords, we don’t need to stretch back out yet, but doing it in the shower is actually fantastic. We could stop there before getting the bathwater going.”
"I wouldn't object to that. The dust can be quite the thing." Noah offers his hand. "Let's move over then. What'd you like to learn?"
“Let’s see now.” Sebastian laughs. “How not to look like a little girl with a stick might be a start. I’ve a bad habit of flinching and being unable to connect a blow.”
"Let's do stances then." Noah moves to stand beside him. "Traditionally, we'd hold the sword and kind of salute with it, but that's also meant to be a - think of it like accepting that you're going into practice mode? Do you need some water? Traditionally, I'd be your spotter, for this, so I need to check in on that."
Sebastian smiles. “Seems like you were a good one. I’m all right just now. And stances sound good, aye. I never built much confidence in one.”
"Then - let's do that. I'll stand next to you, like this." Noah holds his sword. "Let's test this and see if it's the right size of sword for you. I usually use a larger one, but I'm going for a generic practice blade for here. Pretend we're guarding someone behind you."
Sebastian nods and copies the pose. “Guarding someone behind me, right.” In his mind’s eye, that’s Hawke, and he’s taking a stance of sorts that looks fairly specific to someone tall and large framed.
“Is this all right?”
Noah hms. "Okay. I'm going to touch the back of your leg here? I want to see where your weight is." He's moving to do that. "Looks like you're guarding my brother with that stance."
Sebastian laughs. “Hawke, actually. He was shockingly muscular for a mage. I suppose I’m used to slipping into that position. We had a few mages among us, and I was usually back near them while our other fighters took up a front position.”
And he’s nodding at Noah. “I’m not quite sure I’ve been doing this right at all. I gave our armsmaster such a hard time when I was young. Harder for me to pick up, and I got bored while my brothers put forth more effort. Eventually we both agreed that I might as well stick to archery. Or Grandfather had a word with her.”
"I've seen worse. You definitely seem a bit - afraid of the sword. That's one reason why I'm not in front of you. Can you put more weight back here? Try locking your elbow a bit and see how your shoulder feels holding the sword now. You can lower it to more of an at ease position." Noah's demonstrating. "Like this. I'll show you a basic warmup. This is a slash or batting away a sword and then a stab, but it's also part of a dance called the Empress' welcome."
“A bit.” Sebastian nods. “Always, well. I avoided it because I really don’t like getting hit.” And he’s realizing how that sounds. “As a result of practices and my brothers going a bit mad when they get into it, not because someone hit me when I made mistakes.”
"Still, getting hit on accident is a mistake on the part of the people training you." Noah shrugs. "Do you want to stop here? Your stance looks better now. Does it feel more steady? Or we could keep going, love."
“Oh that was my brothers.” Sebastian says, “I suppose someone might have stepped in a bit more but I chalk that up to youthful enthusiasm and when Cal forgets himself, he becomes something else entirely.” He whistles thinking about that. “And…” He tests it. “That feels stronger. I wouldn’t mind a bit more.”
"So the slash. We raise the sword like so, and let the weight of it let it fall." Noah's demonstrating. "If we were facing each other, we could do it with our swords entangled. When your sword is about hip level, take a half step back and bring the sword back to the neutral stance." He runs through the motion. "You'll probably feel this all through your shoulder blades."
Sebastian’s mirroring the slash without the blade in his hand yet, just to try the motion himself. “Ah, aye, that pulls a bit already. Not painfully so.”
"Let me see where - try rolling your weight forward on your hip a bit too?" Noah demonstrates. "You're good though. Your wrist is steady, instead of bending like this. That can really hurt if someone's got live steel pointed at you."
“Ouch, I can imagine.” Sebastian winces again at the thought. And he’s trying to roll there. “Like this?” he THINKS he has the motion nearly there.
"Exactly so." Noah shows the move again. "Neutral, Slash, step back, thrust, And that's a basic warm up routine. The story went that she taught people how to do this with pitchforks, under the guise of folk dancing."
“Neutral.” Sebastian repeats. “slash , step back, thurst.” He’s going for the practice blade now, to try the actions along with the demonstration. He’s doing it with a little, or okay, a LOT more confidence than before.
“And did she manage, when it was pitchforks?”
"Pretty well, the story went. So the dance continued on as a traditional thing." Noah grins. "Want me to do this facing you? We won't be touching swords, but you can see the mirror image. You look much better now. More confident, and your grip looks good."
“I”m glad.” Sebastian says. “It’s something I was never sure about. And that sounds like a good plan.” He gives Noah a nod.
Noah moves in front of him. "This is considered revealing your move, but you can keep a hand back here like this, to help the person you're shielding see where you're going." He demonstrates. "How does this feel? Do you see the ways this sort of workout could be applied to combat?"
Sebastian’s nodding a little, shifting position. “That does seem workable in a group. You’d have that worked out with someone else, then, so that you could manage to coordinate it a bit better, wouldn’t you?”
"All the more reason for spotters, since you'd learn your own internal language." Noah steps back. "Shall we call this, and shower? I'd be happy to practice again, but all the better to stop before you're tired."
“Definitely so.” Sebastian nods. “We had things organized, with our little gang in Kirkwall, so I can see where a move like that would help. And let’s for now. I think it’s been successful.”
Noah bows politely and puts up his sword before getting them both a glass of water. "Let's head in. Do you mind if I join you to shower and to bathe?"
“Not at all.”Sebastian grins. “I was quite hoping that you might. It’ll make it easier to show you the stretches too.”
"My love, I had other stretching in mind." Noah offers his hand. "Drink, and we can depart?"
“Is that not for after?” Sebastian smirks a little. “This sounds insane, I realize that, but there really ARE necessary things to finish first.” He takes Noah’s hand and gets ready to head out.