In the middle of the large open fields of Baska's Outskirts, a Red-headed man stood alongside a large white Wyvern. This was likely the closest friend he had in a long time, a very long time in fact. He was happy to have had it. The odd pair seemed to be taking a break from their fun of flying around the open plains, Knuckles couldn't think of anything else he might enjoy more than that. That was until it came to fighting, there was nothing that got him going more than that.

While under the bright day's sky the Armored man laid his back against the large beast and removed his helmet setting it to the side of his person. Taking in a breath he comes to his hands through his hair allowing it to be fluffed up from pushed downstate it had been in under the helmet.

"You know Fang, sometimes I'm a bit envious of your freedom of flight. But then again you can't do all that much as a human can. I wonder if the trade-off is really worth it. I mean, after all, you have no idea what a well-tailored suit feels like, of the enjoyment of nice hot baths with scented candles. "

Knuckles began to chuckle, "Oh I know, once I have all the jewels I want, I'll have a large pond made being enough for you to lay in, and I'll higher fire mages to warm it up for you. Maybe I'll even treat you to some water mages making a bubble bath for you hahahahaha. "

He closed his eyes and laid back against the large-scaled creature, the dragon-like monster roaring softly to its friend and owner.

The air was warm, the air was fierce, the motion of it all still new to her, but so so enjoyable, so... freeing. Jikan sat on her mighty stead, wind blew past their ears, strong and continuous as if a plane's turbine was blowing right by their bodies. The clouds stayed painted in the air around them, in the sky the clouds looking like white buffy puffballs of cotton candy to Jikan. Her hands stayed on her pet, her auburn black hair flowing wild, partially in the way of her sight because it was in her face, she would need to find a way to solve this issue for the future, but it was the present and Jikan was just going to enjoy herself. The wobbling while riding too.

Maxx, Jikan's  Dhuilin, flapped their brown wings as their slowly descended onto the open field. Their hooves bounced on the ground before sliding into a trout and their wings disappearing, turning their appearance into a normal brown horse.

Jikan's left hand went her head, pressing on top of the leather huntsman cap before taking it out with a smile, her right hand coming up to her face to slide her long hair out of her face before escorting her friend to a nearby stream.  Soft sips were heard as the animal happily went and drank to refresh themselves.

Wc: 230

Stats and Equipment:

Knuckles was alerted to someone around by the sound of trotting, the distinct sound that came from an animal's hooves touching against the ground. Lifting his head he scanned the area, it wasn't until he looked down to the stream of water nearby that he saw the creature that made the sound and the human with it.  The Daemon Male sat up and looked up to his friend Fang, who was resting.   "Enjoy the nap Fang, you deserve it. " Knuckles stood to his feet and gathered his gear. Placing his helmet onto his head he walked over towards the new faces on site.  

As he got closer he would announce himself with a greeting. "Greetings, this is impressive stead you have is a truly majestic creature. I have yet to see one in all my time in the world.

While looking at the creature he moved his gaze to the woman, giving her a quick glance over he gave a small smile, almost grin-like.  She wore leather armor and looked to have a type of gloved weapon. It seemed she was dressed like a fighter, he thought this to be the next subject to talk about.

"Forgive me for being forward ma'am, but you look like a fighter. Though I'd argue that the gear you wear doesn't offer as much of an advantage compared to the heavy stuff like I wear." He knocked against the metal on his chest. allowing the bang to echo out.

"My name is Knuckles Shi, by the way. "
WC:253
TWC:536

Gear/Stats:

Jikan continued to enjoy the time she had with her newly acquired stead, a gift from a merchant from the town of Baska as a symbol of the town's thanks from her resent attempts of aiding them in their time of need with the plaque that haunted their home. As small as her aid was and the impact it made on the large scale, it seemed that the people still respected a stranger willing to help them. Granted, she doubted that they were aware that this animal was not a simple horse but instead was a Duhlin. She would have to let them know and see if they wanted it back, maybe sell it to get food or medical aid, but that was for another day. It had been a long time since she got to see and take care of a majestic animal, she wanted to enjoy herself for a little bit longer.

In the middle of this calmness, she heard a voice call out to her, a polite one, a strong deep male voice. Well, let's hope this one will be nicer than the last guy that walked up on me. Jikan turned her heard to where she heard the voice approaching from, "Why thank you. He is definitely one of the best I have ever gotten to see in my life", Jikan stroke the neck of her mount as she spoke, a happy neigh escaped from the animal.

Jikan eyes scanned the man, noticing his features while still maintaining eye contact. A steel katana, a shield, a helmet, with matching bulky armor. This many must be some warrior type, one that maybe was a knight or something close?

Jikan eyed the man as he made his comment, one that was, well, arrogant to say the least. Skill made the fighter after all, not armor. "Well, you are not forgiven for being so forward", she said this with a soft jokeful smirk. "I do fancy myself a fighter a little, I would say the stuff I got is better than what you got on though. It is strong for defense sure, but it is bulky, it slows you down and hurts your mobility. Unless you got the strength to move around in it lightly, it is just gonna slow you down. ....and the name's Jikan, Jikan Supēsu".

Wc: 400
Twc: 630

The Daemon nodded his head up and down agreeing. She had a point but, speed did not matter too much when one could withstand almost any attack that came for them. It was not a kit currently built for the first strike but a counter strike.  Agility and speed were useful, which he would not deny, but those who needed to be swift to dodge and such showed the lack of damage they could take. "True statements Jikan, however, I do not attend to run from my attacker.  Perhaps this discussion could be handled in a test and we can see which of our styles come out ahead?" He asked in a calm tone yet one that still held his ideals above the others.  

With that said Knuckles turned his back and took several paces away from the stead and the water he then turned to the woman and pulled his shield from his back with his off-hand then drew his steel katana.  His feet were spread out shoulder-width apart as he tucked his left arm in tight to his chest, allowing the buckler to protect his organs and chest, his right hand hung lost at his side as the blade rested on the edge of his shield the two items pairing as one. It was odd for one to wear a shield with this fashion of blade, but it was light, and had length, and was easy to hide his strokes from behind his shield.  The thin blade actually paired well with the shield in the manner in which he used it.
WC: 263
TWC:893

Jikan listened and nodded back to the man known as Knuckles as he spoke. The back of her mind momentarily being drawn in by their name, what kind of person gives their child's name as Knuckles? That must be an alias or a cover or something. Jikan was fine with not getting the man's true name, it did not matter to her one way or the other if he was telling her his real name. Although, her assumption that he indeed was lying to her did put her on guard.

"It is not running from your opponent, it is being wise. Choosing one's places to attack is nothing to be ashamed of". She listened to the rest of the man's words as she let him finish. His words were calm but she knew what he wanted, a challenge. It had been some time since Jikan had gotten a proper exercise and tested her skills in combat, her time in the tournaments within Baska done away with her priority to uncover the plaque around them. "I accept your test between our styles, I just hope we are close enough in power that the style wins and not something else".

Jikan allowed the man to step aware and prepare himself, his sword and shield ready to test his mettle. Taking her time Jikan walked several paces herself, ensuring their fight would be far away from both of their mounts. Once settled, about 10 meters away from Knuckles, Jikan lowered her stance. Placing her right arm that contained her gauntlet behind her in an upward L position, her left hand was in front of her body, guarding her chest in a closed fist across her chest. Her legs were shoulder length apart, her left foot upward with her toes pointed towards the armor dawned warrior, while her right foot was placed slightly behind her, facing a perpendicular position. "Ready when you are".

Wc: 335
Twc: 965

Knuckles looked at the woman blankly, his name was not as odd as others. It was sort of rude to assume his name was something like a nickname or a fake name he went by.  Knuckles sighed loudly to allow his frustration to be clear/ "Knux is my nickname, Knuckles IS my real name, I am a man of status back in my home town I'll have you know. "

He let it go after that, he gathered himself as she accepted, she moved as he did, they stood 10 meters or so away from each other.  When she said she was ready Knuckles did not wait, he charged forward keeping his buckler in front of his body as he moved his blade down the shield and swung it back cocking the arm for a swing. If she remained in place, Knuckles would bring the blade down as he reached 4 meters from her, he had range on his attacks with her fist. That was unless she could cast magic.  By the time he met the 3-meter mark, his steel katana was coming from a side swing as he moved his shield to the left of his body to protect his side as his blade made the arc across the plain of his chest, covering the right and midsection as he swung, giving him a good enough angle to pull it to the side if needed while slashing at her.
WC:239
TWC:1132

"Ah I see so your born name is Knuckles. But tell me, how did you end up with the nickname Knux?". Jikan held back on the comment about the last part he said. The declaration that his name held a class of staus back home. A fact that Jikan really did not care for or about nor wanted to know. Just another ego scared man that needs a few strokes I suppose.... At least this one seemed respectful though, so perhaps he had some honor and manners that higher ups always bragged about having. Hopefully, he would have some skill to back up this sense of pride she was getting from him.

She waited for the man and prepared herself as they eventually stood 10 meters from each other. As soon as she declared she was ready he was on the move, the swiftness of his approach made Jikan smile slightly, a soft smirk on her face. Well, at least he is not afraid to get to it.

He charged forward at her, keeping his shield in front of his body using his left hand, as he did so, he moved his right hand back ready to strike. She lifted her heels slightly off the ground, her calf muscles tightening ready to use her agility. She eyes the blade at his side as he steadily made his way towards her, reaching the 4 meter mark and finally at the 3 meter mark where he swung out his sword in an arc vertically downward upon her. Seeing before hand that the mighty warrior was coming with their arm back, she was able to tell that the man was ready to strike her, coming in with a horitonzal slash that would most likely be aimed at her chest area given their height difference. Jikan would duck far enough down to the ground that she was well under the reach of the blade. Using her leg muscles, she would move forward a few steps, dancing to the right side of the man to present her body on the outward side of the arm that held the man's sword, tightening her core she would use her 1 meter reach of her arms to flung her right fist out in a straight jab to the arm that the man was using to hold his sword.
Whether or not this blow landed, Jikan would then hop back with a lunge. Resetting the distance from the two and causing them to be about 13.5 meters apart from each other.

Wc: 437
Twc: 1,402

The woman ducked his strike, her quick thought, and nimble footing allowed her to evade the strike. Though she took a few steps after the blade passed her, searching to move in close enough to use the gloved weapons.  As she stepped towards him Knuckles too took steps, his however to the left before pivoting his body allowing the twist of his body to move his shield into the strike zone.  The shield bounced back with the force of her strikes, there were impressive for the size of the young woman.

Knuckles watched as she'd leap back and quite far too, a striking 13.5 meters! The feat was one he had not yet seen in a fight with other before, not that he had not seen thing like this in the world before, after all, they lived in a world of magic.  This did not take away the skills of the woman though. Knuckles felt like maybe he had bit off a bit more than he could chew.   Though, he was not going to back down or not finish this fight.  Knuckles leaned into his shield as he faced the woman head-on, lifting his blade up to the side of his shield. He could not match that speed nor that distance. He would wait until she came back for another attack. Though he did notice his shield was a bit banged up from that strike earlier. So much so that it would be no longer functional as an item able to block.

"Knux is just a shorthand version Of course"
WC: 263
TWC 1394

A slash and a duck, a punch and a twist, leading into a clash of weapon vs armor, their metal and power testing against each other. With her agility and speed, Jikan was able to duck under the sword strike of Knux. Sliding forward with a few steps, her right hand right hand left its raised stance to throw out a right jab. The punch was blocked by Knux's shield, the heavy weighted fighter shifting to the left as he pivoted his body in an attempt to twist the base of his body to move his shield into the area Jikan was targeting.

Knux gathered himself once again, lifting his shield in front of his body while holding his sword in his right hand and holding it to the right side. Jikan eyed him, noticing his shield specially. The iron round shield was beaten up from the blows absorbed, looking at its appearance, Jikan would expect for it to not be really useful in the fight anymore. But there was still the issue of the man's armor and sword. His attire was bulky, which meant it would take  a lot of work, a lot of hits, to get through his defense and get to the human under it. In addition, his sword gave him a far greater reach than Jikan. She had to be careful, she had a speed advantage, she was sure of that, she just needed to be smart about her agility.

Kicing up a small cloud of dust, Jikan charged forward towards Knux once again, closing in the distance from 13.5 meters to 7.25 meters in about one second with a dash forward. Her hands were raised in a close guarded boxing stance, her right hand protected her chest and organs while her left hand was slightly lower, guarding her stomach and lower abdomen as best as she could.

"Ah, fair enough. Most nicknames come from shorting people's names after all".

Wc: 332
Twc:  1,744

Knuckles looked down to his shield once more, the dent within it allowed him to know it was about as good as a trash can lid at this point. Perhaps he needed an upgraded version? He'd wager on that after this fight, for now, he was learning that the speed and strength of this small-framed woman would be quite impressive, to say the least. His skill was there with hers but perhaps what his body was currently capable of doing was not. He discarded the shield tossing it to the side allowing it to slide down near the shoreline of the river. With no wall of protection viable any longer, the red-haired man gripped his blade firmly as he moved it to the center of his body still holding it with a single hand.

With another leap, the woman closed the distance, almost halving the vast space between them, though she did not push in for an attack he was sure she had positioned herself in a good position. Her lack of weapon in the traditional sense lost her the range advantage, she was probably looking to have him potion himself in a manner that would allow her fisted weapons to land blows that would destroy more of his gear, something he would not tolerate nor allow. It would be foolish to rush in, he wanted distance between them but not this much. With the ground she could cover in such a short time he knew a foolish advance could strike the end of the fight. What was he to do?

He needed to think of a plan, something that would put him into a position he could push into a successful attack. Knuckles start a slow walk towards her, his eyes fixed onto her legs as he did so. If he could follow them clearly he could possibly figure out where they would lead her. His walk would shortly start to speed up until he would be moving at a jog, covering a meter as he did so, placing the space between them 6.25 meters, he kept increasing speeds as he moved closer towards her. Four seconds passed and the man was now able to run at full speeds, allowing his body to move at 10 meters per second. In the next second, he would be within striking distance at 3 meters away, with a quick motion of his right arm he'd swing the blade as he neared her, this time turning the blade to the left side of his body and slicing up, the tip of the blade starting the swing upwards from the armored knee of the swordsman, and extending to the full reach of his arm length of nearly a meters giving his sword a total striking reach of about 2 meters in full, allowing the swing to reach full power by the time he reached her. The blade aimed to cut at her wait to shoulder.

WC: 495
TWC:1889

Jikan's eyes stayed glued on the heavy weighted fight before her as she closed in on the distance between the two of them. Her body was shrunken, positioned in a way that could only be explained as a running boxing stance. Her hands were stilled raised and closed, positioned in a close guarded boxing stance, her right hand protecting her chest and organs while her left hand was slightly lower, guarding her stomach and lower abdomen. She had speed, she knew that for a fact, but the topic of strength was unknown to her. With the size of the man and the sword he wielded, she would not be surprised if a solid punch from him was stronger than her strikes or that a slash from his sword could cause more internal damage. Blunt verses slash after all.

She watched and noted the red haired man preparing to re-engage with Jikan. His eyes looked down momentarily at the dented shield before tossing it to the side. The metal banged on the ground before sliding down near the shoreline of the river. The matter of if it would simply sit there in the edge, fall into the water, or down the stream was something that Jikan did not concern herself on. Her match up for today was now present with one less defensive piece of armor. The shield held in his left hand was now gone, and the area that he had was now a slight percentage easier to get to, hopefully. Time would tell.

Her initial running made the distance between the two close, closing the distance from 13.5 meters to 7.25 in one second. The man was being careful, positioning his blade in front of him as a weapon and a shield. Looking closer at the blade now, Jikan saw that the blade combined with it's hilt, was about 1 meter long, the blade itself being .7 meters long. With the man's arm length, he had at least a .7 meter reach advantage over Jikan who's range was only as long as her 1 meter arms.

Knux walked forward, his eyes on her legs as he did so. She could not blame him, she had strong and gorgeous legs, any rational man would take the chance to observe them. Besides that funny thought, Jikan knew the real reason, he was planning something, perhaps a strike at her legs to weaken her speed and limit her agility in the equation of their battle. Or maybe he was just trying to keep up with her movement. She would note either of these possibilities in her mind regardless.

His walk was short lived, as soon as it shortened the distance between them from 7.25 meters to 6.25 meters the man went into a jog. His speed would increase, in four seconds of acceleration the man was moving at a speed of 10 meters per second by Jikan's perception. But Jikan was still moving as well, and her acceleration increased as well through the four seconds. Changing her movement speed from 6.25 meters to 12.5 meters, to 18.75, to finally to 25 meters per second in the four seconds that they were running towards each other. However, she had reach the man far before either of them had reached their max speed, closing the 6.25 meter distance between the two of them in one second while at the man's pace, it would take him at least three seconds to cover the same amount of ground. Reaching him in one second being right up in his face, Jikan still had 3 seconds before 4 seconds had passed total and the man would reach his full speed, and another second before he would begin his motion of turning the blade to the left side of his body and slicing up, the starting point being the armored swordsman's knee.

In a quick motion, Jikan struck out with a punch from her right hand at the 2 second mark upon reaching the man, throwing a blow to the man's opened left side, aiming for a hook body shot to the ribs, that previously was hidden by his shield. In the following two seconds that passed, Jikan threw another punch, a right jab, the fist aimed at the man's opened left arm, the strike occurred at the 3rd second mark respectively. After which, she would move to the left, running for one second before doing a sharp turn to be behind the man when five seconds had finally passed. Thanks to Jikan's speed and agility, she had moved far faster than what they man could, moving out of the way of his upward sword strike far before he had committed himself to the action, dodging and increasing the distance once again with 25 meters now being the distance between the two.

Wc: 822
Twc: 2,566

Spoiler:

It seemed the woman had wanted to charge him as well, she followed his head on path with her own, though as he lowered his blade down to swing she would sway to the left, as she did so Knuckles matched her movements, moving to his right opening the space between them once more. He'd lunge forward-moving 10 meters past where the two would have crossed paths and fought for a time. they would probably be about 11-13 meters away from each other now. Knuckles placed his sword back into his sheath and clapped his hands.   "Your speed is most impressive, I'll admit I have lost this battle for now. Though if we were to cross paths once more I would wish to see the battle through. I apologized for ending the battle this way, but I just remembered I have a meeting I must attend to. I hope to see you soon. " He bowed his head towards her and turned around quickly making his way back to Fang, the large white beast lifting its head as Knuckles approached it.  Knuckles climb aboard his friend as Fang let out a roar. The wings flapped quickly as they lifted into the air and the pair flew off heading North.

WC 208
TWC 2097

-EXIT-

The head on collision was a blur of events, a testament to the speed of the magical gauntlet brawler user Jikan Supesu, and the sword wielding heavy armored knight user Knuckles Shi. The dead on path between them was obvious to lead to something, and it did. As he lowed his blade down to swing Jikan moved to the side to throw out her two blows. She was sure that they hit but the man did not stay still. Trying as best he could he would try to match her movements. He shuffled, moving to his right opening the space between them once more. He then lunge forward-moving 10 meters past where the two crossed paths and exchanged blows. He moved much better than she thought he would be able to after seemingly seeing to absorb the blow to the arm and side. In the end they would be a solid 35 meters away from each other after Jikan's running and the man own lunge.

Jikan watched and was ready for their tango to continue before witnessing him placing his sword back in his sheath and clapped his hands. She put her arms to the side, the battle appeared to be over faster than she thought.

"Well thank you. Your endurance is something else as well though. I may, perhaps have a speed advantage over you but you have the proper techniques and armor to defend yourself."

"Ah, I see, very well then. Go off to whatever matter you need to do", she wondered if this was true though or was he just trying to back out. For some reason she doubt he was acting like a coward, he felt...like an honorable fighter.

She then watched him bow before making his way to his majestic creature before taking off with a roar.
Jikan would watch them depart before walking back to her own mount and petting it sides as it welcomed her with a neigh. With a hop she got her Dhulin and was on her way out of the grasslands.


Wc: 344
Twc: 2,910

[Exit]