[closed]

[aenseidhe]

WHO: Iorveth & Kostos
WHAT: Combat training, but with booze and prying
WHEN: Somewhere in Cloudreach
WHERE: Gallows
NOTES: idk booze and losers

[ "by the time you start getting into bar brawls, you're likely to already be shitfaced, but there's no guarantee the other will be."

that's iorveth's rationale for giving kostos shot after shot of hard liquor before today's training session kicks in (maybe taking just one or two himself). and it is true, the man needs to be able to fight while blitzed, as that's normally the state he's in when his fights come up, and if there were no secondary interest, he likely would have done this at some point anyway.

it just happens that it might make it slightly easier to get straight answers out of the man this way.

they're about twenty minutes in to kostos wobbling around and trying to hit targets and dodge sweep arms and legs without busting his ass or getting clocked on the side of the head, when Iorveth segues from instruction, commentary on form and the occasional piece of shit-talk, to one of those questions he'd like a clearer answer to. ]

Agathe dead and Elise as far behind as she is, we're only left with the conservatives, aren't we? [ well, and the bland one, but we all know that one's likely to be well tanked by the inquisition by now. ] That'll likely end with a return to the Circles eventually, won't it? Watch your footwork.

Comments

[aenseidhe]

[ Kostos' been training with Iorveth long enough now that he doesn't pull punches with him any longer, even if he's shitfaced, part because he's gained the skill that he doesn't need to be protected, and part because he gets that there's a release to have in that. kostos flashes teeth, and iorveth gives him a sharp smirk back. sometimes violence just fun.

other times it's a distraction, and often enough, pulling shit like that bites you in the ass, because the frank admission, just before a punch, puts iorveth into his head, surprised, long enough kostos' fist connect squarely into his side. iorveth lets out a hiss, retreating a step as kostos does, but a chuckle falls for him. yeah yeah, okay, that one was good. after a second, he waves a hand to motion him back in, and start up again. ]

Did you feel safe there?

[ he moves to step in, taking space from kostos and trying to see how well he can keep himself balanced and upright. now and again, as they talk, he sweeps a boot at his ankles, trying to get him caught up, or shoves a shoulder into his chest to see if he topples over. you know, drunkness and that balance thing, it's a bitch. ]

You aren't incompetent, and you aren't reckless with your power. [ not in the ways he's thinking of, at least, but then again, iorveth isn't exactly the best authority on what constitutes 'reckless'. ] Do you truly feel the world needs to be protected from you, or was the order and structure simply a comfort?