faderift | (no subject)

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(no subject)

WHO: Krem and anyone that happens along.
WHAT: Krem is growing fidgety between missions and helping the repair effort, while Bull is out and about doing Important Inquisition Things
WHEN: Any time after the training ring is set up
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: Nothing in particular except it's a Krem and he's making a little bit of a spectacle of himself.

If there was one thing Krem was good at, it was winding himself up. While he and the Chargers had their missions, more often than not, he was around Skyhold, and he could almost feel himself atrophying.

The training ring had been set up almost immediately by Commander Cullen's forces, but for the moment, it was empty. Off on assignment, or else occupied elsewhere, this meant that there wasn't much by way of distraction when the bored, slightly agitated Charger when he rounded the posts marking the border of it. He had stripped off his armor except for his leathers, mail, and chestplate, leaving his arms exposed to the air He had his maul in hands wrapped with soft leather, and he seemed to be doing warmup maneuvers with it.

Over time though, it got more complex. Strikes turned into flowing stances, booted feet ground into the dusty dirt and kicked it up when he turned in place. It was clear why Bull valued him as a fighter, with a weapon heavier than the average human could easily wield turned into a blur around him. This was why he was a front-line fighter, how he'd kept himself alive through skirmishes, and how he kept his skills sharp on and off the battlefield.

He was faintly shining with sweat when he came to a halt, slinging his weapon over his back, heading for a bucket filled with cool water and dipping a tin cup into it that was resting on the nearby stones. Part of it was splashed on his face and rubbed through his hair as he caught his breath.

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Sam watches with caution at the way Krem is flipping the dagger, his shoulders tense as he contemplates if the Charger is going to... well, charge him.

--"Attack as you see fit."

Sam blinks and looks up at Krem's face at that. "Wait. What? You have a knife and you just want me to... attack you?" Sam looks down at himself then back at Krem. He's unarmed. Granted he doesn't need a weapon to attack, but-

"Like you want me to physically attack you?"

"As you see fit," he repeats, "but if you think can lift it you can go ahead and try my weapon."

The idea of Sam picking up the maul in the first place makes him chuckle. He highly doubts that that would be a thing that happens.

"The point of this is to see what you prefer to do, and try to correct the blind spots and instability. Can't exactly put up a very good fight if someone can just-" He lashes out at this point, one foot kicking out and his heel coming around behind Sam's, pulling his legs wide while at the same time, the hand holding the knife came around under his arm, free hand wrapping around Sam's wrist. The way he was holding the knife, the blunt edge was against Sam's throat just under his jaw. If he'd been holding it correctly and wanted to finish the move, he could kill the other faster than he could retaliate. "You see?"

Edited 2015-10-18 10:16 (UTC)

Sam raises a brow and looks at the maul in question. He's rather confident in his physical strength, but even he knows he cannot pick that thing up. Well he probably could lift it. Like an inch.

He is mildly listening to Krem's words as he continues to contemplate his ability to lift the heavy weapon until he hears a break in Krem's words.

Shit!

Sam realizes his mistake too late and turns just in time to feel his body being twisted to Krem's preference. There isn't even time for Sam to let out a curse. Once everything finally settles Sam finds himself staring up at Krem with wide eyes, tilting his head back away from the cool edge of the knife.

Sam darts his tongue out to wet his lips nervously. "Point... taken." He chuckles breathlessly. For a moment Sam says nothing, but flexes his wrist to see his range of motion.

"Point is to see what I prefer to do, and correct the instability, right?"

Even though he asked, Sam doesn't wait for an answer. Instead he stops trying to balance his weight in Krem's entanglement and simply lets himself become dead weight.

At least for a second before his body glows and seemingly poofs inward, a trail of blue wisps heading off to the left.

Krem's body momentarily bows inward. A mage. A damned mage and he hadn't even let it show until now. Sneaky, and it actually manages to make Krem pause.

"Now that was good," he comments and straightens up, facing where Sam had poofed off to. His hands came to rest on his hips, knife between his fingers. "If that were faster, maybe the moment after my foot made contact, you might have found me more off-balance. Being able to read where that sudden strike is gong to be will save your life, more often than not."

A distance away, Sam phases back into the world, skipping a bit to a stop. Looking down at himself he tugs at his shirt to right it before turning and tilting his head at Krem. He smiles at hearing that the Charger is mildly impressed.

The key word is 'mildly'. Or at least that's how he sounds considering he's right back to instructing him.

Honestly he should have seen that coming. It's probably because he figures he isn't going to be killed - or is that too hopeful - by the Charger that his reaction to the attack was so terrible.

Sam doesn't let it get to him though and instead drops down into a stance. "Alright, duly noted. But do you honestly want to try that again?"

While it was better not to underestimate your sparring partner, training for real fights isn't really something that he can expect from everyone here. Krem can't blame Sam in the slightest for not being prepared for much.

"I want you to try again," he confirms with a nod. "I'm not going to go out of my way to attack you. Rather not break anything."

Sam chuckles. "I'm assuming when you say 'break' you're referring to me." There's a huge grin on his face while saying that. From seeing how Krem could swing around that weapon he was more than sure that Krem could probably lift him with ease.

Knowing that, Sam keeps to moving around, keeping a fair amount of distance between the two of them. His advantage will be staying at range, especially since Krem was a force to be reckoned with if he got too close, and he didn't have a weapon. Ugh.

And now the Charger knew he could use magic. At least he didn't know what kind.

Sam grins mischievously then. Nothing was going to get done by just by thinking about stuff. "You know lieutenant. If I didn't know better... I think you were actually curious about that flexing comment and wanted to get a look at my body."

Krem's eyebrow arched up some at that. He...well, he couldn't deny that he was interested to see if someone actually did intend to flex at him if he did so to begin with. He didn't actually intend to flex, but it was an amusing thought either way.

Standing up straight with his arms crossed, Krem ambles his way around the ring with an eye on Sam. "That'd be a lot more poignant coming from someone that hadn't been lusting after a show to begin with," he taunted in return. He doesn't want to trip Sam just yet. He isn't that mean. He could tease though, and tease he would.

Sam puts a hand over his heart, signalling that he was wounded by Krem's words. "If I recall I wasn't the one that had about the flexing. I was simply trying to figure out the terms." There might have been pouting at that point.

The mage sighs and raises his arms up to shrug. "Though I see you are going with that. Course it is hard to believe considering you were the one in a rush to bend me over your knee."

"Why not leave the other interested party to suss out their own terms? Not very polite of you."

The look Krem gives him is half frustration, half amusement, and he starts wondering if Sam even intends to strike, or if he's just going to taunt until one or both of them bores of it. "If this is how you intend to fight all your battles, someone may see fit to remove your tongue, fair warning."

"Well that would be a shame since it's rather talented." Sam frowns at the threat, or is at least trying to. It's hard to do so when he obviously wants to smile. "Unless that's a morbid way of you saying you want my tongue, Lieutenant."

He makes a point to give Krem a once over before taking a step forward.

"Not really in the business of removing body parts without intent to kill in the end. That's more Lady Nightingale's specialty."

If Sam really is trying to make it sound like he's fishing in Krem's head, then Krem also has ammunition for that, and at the forefront of his mind he starts to broadcast some of the Iron Bull's escapades that involve partial or full nudity. If it works, all the better, allowing him to suss out what direction Sam's talents rested in. If it doesn't, then Sam is just bullshitting him because he doesn't want to strike. If that's the case, he can lay down his arms and Krem can go check in with the Chief in case he has something he needs the rest of them to go do.

Sam actually does frown at that. He's a rather imaginative mind and picturing his tongue being cut out for interrogation isn't pleasant. He actually sticks his tongue out a bit to show his disgust.

Still, the conversation seems to be allowing him to lessen the distance slowly. Not that he plans on getting within Krem's striking range, but being too far gives too much chance for missing.

"So not into flexing, or removing body parts. What do you like to do? Besides drinking?"

Well, that's that at least. Krem headed around the ring and picked his maul back up, the exposed muscle of his arm tensing and hardening as he hefted the weapon, swinging it in a slow arc and propping it over his shoulder.

"I watch, listen to people, that sort of thing. Used to play pila, but there isn't really much by way of places to do that around here, not to mention lack of others that'd know how to play. Plus Lady Montilyet might not appreciate my trying to make a proper field for it."

Sam raises a brow and follows Krem, though keeps the same amount of distance. What was he doing? At seeing the man pick up the weapon - okay that was serious impressive - he stops.

"Pila?" Sam tilts his head to the side, obviously now knowing what the sport - game? - was. "Exactly what would you need to do that would make Lady Montilyet upset?"

Sam narrows his eyes just a fraction, watching Krem a bit more intently. Was he using conversation as well as a distraction? Ugh. He had never sparred someone who focused on physical attacks, this made things so much more difficult.

"A very large, open dirt field. Up here, that spells mud." Krem continues in his slow pacing around Sam, his grip changing subtly on his weapon. He looks up toward the main hall, his free hand on his hip. "It's a ball game, requires kneepads, a small ball, and a pair of hoops, but little else. Teams of eight on either side. Score a point by putting the ball through the hoop. Simple enough."

There is a lot that he isn't saying about it, mainly because discussing the technical aspects of the rules is boring, even if he knows them front to back. His path is bringing him closer to Sam, in such a way that it's putting him within better range to take the mage's feet out from under him.

"Of course, I'd wager there are some that would enjoy the spectacle of a lot of men covered in mud."

"That..." Sam tilts his head to the other side. "Sounds like a lot of fun actually." He cannot remember the last time he had played a game. A physical game. Not chess, which was main game besides pranks he had at the Circle.

"Mud ain't so bad." Sam grins at that. He's Ferelden, a little mud doesn't bother him.

Krem is being to casual. The hairs on the back of his neck start to stand on end, and Sam pauses in his steps.

That pause proves to be Krem's cue, and the moment Sam's no longer moving, Krem lunges and sweeps the maul off his shoulder, swinging it down low as he spins on one foot, grinding the dirt under his boot. He swings it back up and around to build the momentum of it, then brings it up and over his head to slam it down just to Sam's left, something to spur him into motion. It throws fine dust into the air in a cloud that obscures the grin Krem is giving him.

"You awake yet?"

Shit.

At least he sees this one coming. Or rather it is pretty obvious that Krem lets him see it coming. With a heavy weapon like that there could be some serious injury. And Sam doesn't think he's said anything to turn this spar into a blood bath. Just to be safe though he moves a bit to the right.

If Krem was hoping that he'd run off though, he's greatly mistaken. Actually the Charger has given him quite the opportunity.

Even with the dust Sam can see Krem and immediately he reaches out, grabbing the other man by the shoulder. For a split second there's a flash of blue magic as Sam places a barrier around the Lieutenant and himself, before his other hand comes up a couple feet away from Krem's chest.

If Krem can see his face there is certainly a very wicked look there.

"Yeeeap!" No sooner as he's said that his hand bursts into flame and a decent sized fireball shoots out, exploding a moment later as it hits their barriers.

The blast is enough to knock Sam off his feet and onto his back, and besides getting the wind knocked out of lungs there isn't a singe from the fire.

"SHIT-" Krem ducks as soon as he realizes what Sam is trying to do, and as soon as the fireball detonates he's shoved back a foot, only held in place by his grip on his maul, which had barely budged from the explosion. He shakes his head, his hair falling forward over his brow as he narrows his eyes at Sam. Clever mage.

The maul throws dirt into the air as it's yanked out of the ground, swinging forward then back as Krem regains control of it, his hands resting wide on the shaft of it. He coughed then spat to get the taste of ash and dirt out of his mouth after having inhaled some of the smoke, eyeing Sam up and down. He didn't seem to be hurt, just winded from that stunt.

"Not bad," he huffs and stretches his arms upward, maul hefted overhead, then lets it fall as his hands slide to grip near the end, letting the weapon gain as much momentum as possible as he swung it in its wide arc to get Sam moving again. He made sure to keep his movements slower than normal, always giving Sam the chance to move, think of a new way out of a situation.

Well that had gone a lot better then he expected. Granted he was hoping to knock Krem off his feet, but knowing that he caught the man off guard once more was worth it. Was that a glare? Perfect.

Not so perfect when Krem lifts up the maul over his head. Honestly, it was a little unfair at how well he could swing that thing. Actually, if he just ignored the maul it wasn't that bad of a view. Course mauls aren't made to be ignored. And he's pretty sure his barrier cannot hold up against that monstrous thing.

Once again Sam disappears in wisps of blue, then re-appearing at a distance again. He's crouched down, balancing on the balls of his feet, his arms crossed over his knees, and a rather big pout on his face. "Jeez, that thing is scary. I think I liked the dagger better."

"'Scary's kind of the point," Krem replies with a shrug, though he's amused at the sight of Sam pouting like a child whining that it isn't fair. He puts the head of the maul back down on the ground, hand propped up on the end of it. He shakes his head, tossing his hair back out of his face, then leaving the weapon balanced he pulls his knife again, starting to walk it over his fingers. "If you want to call it quits here, all you have to do is say."

Sam watches cautiously as Krem puts the maul back down, shifting ever so slightly in his spot. And there's the dagger again. Ugh, why didn't he just complain about Krem having a weapon period?

His eyes narrow as he watches the dagger now, knowing fully well it could come flying at him at any moment. It's what Krem says that makes him give a snort.

Standing up to his full height, hands on hips, Sam glares at the other man. "Oh, you wish. Did my little fire show scare you?"

"You just look so small and afraid over there with that pout on your face," he teases, his free hand on his hip as he flips the blade around in his hand to hold it proper. "Looked like a kicked pup, now you're trying to be big?"

Even unimpressed as Krem seems, he still appreciates that Sam is being serious. While he hadn't gone into this expecting to fight with a mage it isn't as if Krem is unprepared. But he likes Sam well enough. Hopefully after this the man wouldn't just huff off.

Sam shakes his head slowly. Oh. Dog jokes. Because he's Ferelden. Cute. "Rea-" Nope, doesn't matter.

He knows he doesn't have a good comeback for that. So instead Sam just snaps his hands up in front of him and fires off another fireball. At this distance, Sam aims it towards his legs, knowing that if for some reason he dodges the attack won't leave the ring.