Combat 101 [Private]

[Tayari]

Tayari wandered through the Undermarket area, taking in the sights, having only been there once during a rather excited occasion. He'd been meaning to visit the place for a while; it was essentially Rebel Central, after all, and he'd done very little rebellion after signing up. Plus, he wanted to familiarise himself a little more.
The final straw that led to this visit, though, was mostly tied to his eventual destination; an open invitation from his recent ally, Pike, for combat discussion. A few nights of thinking on the merits of the idea had pushed him forward; and soon, he stood before a door. Giving it a couple of knocks, he waited for a response. 'I really hope I've got the right place...'

[Pike Vanguard]

Pike heard the knocks on his door, wondering who it could be. He was reading on his cot, getting prepared to head to Xarith's for a shower. "Hello, come on in. I'm open for consultation!" The earth pony exclaimed at the shut door. Pike got up and moved a chair on one side of the desk and sat in his own chair. "There's no lock," giving another shout.

[Tayari]

On hearing Pike's exclamation, Tayari opened the door and walked inside, closing the door after himself. He nodded in greeting and said, "Good day, Pike. How are you?"

[Pike Vanguard]

Upon seeing his colleague enter his home office, Pike was both surprised and excited. The pony's face lit up, "Hello, Tayari! I didn't think you would drop by. Take a seat!" Pike laughed and pointed at the chair in front of the desk. The zebra's youthfulness always made him a little more cheerful. "I hope you don't mind the smell of the sewers, I would fully move myself to Xarith's place but..." He trailed off. "Anyways, I assume you're here for some training."

[Tayari]

Tayari nodded as he took a seat. "Thank you. And yes, please; I've decided that, considering both the alliance formed between myself and Xarith, Roulette and you, as well as living in such conditions as this city, it would be best to receive martial training in some form. I'd offer payment, of course, if you're still willing to teach?"

[Pike Vanguard]

Waving a hoof at Tayari and frowning, Pike flapped his lips making a comical sound. "No need to pay me right now, my zebra friend. There will be plenty of favors I can ask of you later. Besides, there are some potions of yours I have been needing for some... side projects." He looked around the room for a few moments of silence, wondering what to say next.

"As for your second question, you will have to be patient with me since I have not practiced my spear-play in a while." Pike lost his smile, "Plus, I haven't had a spear since the war. I hope you understand."

[Tayari]

Tayari replied, "I will, of course, provide you with potions if that is what you desire; or do my best to do so. As for the training, I do not aim to become a master of a spear, but rather to be able to use one with any real effectiveness should I ever need to. As long as you are able to teach me to use a spear to any useful degree, I will be more than happy."

[Pike Vanguard]

Pike considered what Tay said and stood up from his chair. "Very well then." He walked over to a side wall to the right of him. Stashed in a corner were a collection of metal pipes, most of which were afterthoughts on the construction of his home. The earth pony picked one up with his teeth and tossed it to the zebra.

"This is a short spear length of pipe. The short spear is what most of us guards learned on before we moved on to longer pole weapons." Pike breathed in and hoofed himself another pipe, cradling it with a hoof as one would cradle a foal. "The key is balance. The longer the pole, the harder it is to maintain balance. Pegasi and earth ponies learn to fight often with three hooves on the ground. In the case of us without wings, all the time."

[Tayari]

Tayari caught the metal pipe that had been thrown to him. "I imagine balance would be a valuable quality, no matter what weapon is being used. Come to think of it, I am certain I have seen Xarith standing on only his hind legs in the past... though I do not know if I could mimic his stance."

[Pike Vanguard]

Shrugging with the rudimentary weapon in hoof, Pike braced himself in a steady attack position. His back made an audible pop, a side-effect from a day sitting in a chair and writing in ledgers. The pony gave a few practice swings back and forth and remained in the stance.

"Don't worry about the shopkeep." Pike chuckled, "You came to me for a reason and I will now give you a good reason to keep coming back." While still in the stance, his breathing became heavier, he had gained a lot of weight since he was in the service years ago. Pike pushed the table aside with a swift buck of a back hoof. "Imitate my stance, this is a balanced stance with a fair amount of range and power."

[Tayari]

Tayari examined Pike's combat stance for several seconds before making his own attempt to imitate it. The final product, after a couple of dozen seconds, was a crude imitation of Pike's; essentially similar in appearance, but very obviously imperfect.
The zebra looked to his new teacher and said, "I don't think this is right... How do I improve on this?"

[Pike Vanguard]

"First of all..." Pike poked the pipe at Tayari's legs, not close enough to touch them but so that the zebra could get the gist of his prodding. "You're legs are too stiff, you'll have to bend them. You're much shorter than me so you're actually at an advantage there, use it to stay low." The earth pony exaggerated a bent position for a demonstration. "Second, you will want to keep your weapon tight in your hoof but loose in your foreleg. You're good with this, but just letting you know as a reminder."

Pike danced around Tayari a little bit, trying to get a sense for his own ability again. "As a zebra, you might be a little quicker than me as well, so don't be afraid to use the spear as a hoof hold to propel your body." He made a couple of jabs in the air, smiling as he did so.

[Tayari]

Tayari nodded, bending his legs and keeping the other points in mind for future reference. "Like this?"

[Pike Vanguard]

Pike nodded, his breath was heavy but steady by now. "Better, Tayari. Now, I'm going to lunge at you. Make sure to parry away my attack, nothing more. Do you understand?" The pony asked, still excited from the sudden exercise.

[Tayari]

Tayari nodded after a second and said, "I'll do my best, at the very least," before bracing himself for the lunge.

[Pike Vanguard]

Pike wiped his grin off and turned it into a sly smirk. The stallion kicked off the ground and flew at Tayari, he was a little slow, but put an ample amount of strength into his lunge. He aimed for the zebra's shoulder, hoping to only lightly punish him if the other wasn't able to parry in time.

[Tayari]

Tayari moved his pipe quickly, if inelegantly, to attempt to push the incoming 'spear' to the side, hoping to redirect it away from him. In his excitement and effort, he turned his head away unconsciously.
The noise of an impact reached his ears, and even before he looked he smiled as he realized he hadn't been hit; it seemed the parry had worked.

[Pike Vanguard]

Pike shifted off-balance, getting into back into the swing of things. He ended up on the other side of the zebra and smiled genuinely. "That's what I'm talking about!" He yelled but lunged back at the other a second time, aiming to disarm once again. The pipe was leveled out and Pike's own hooves strode firmer this time, naturally adjusting to his sparring partner's skills. The speed of the thrust was much quicker this time.

[Tayari]

This time, Tayari was caught off guard; almost before he realized the testing wasn't over, and certainly before he could ready himself again, Pike's lunge connected with Tayari's shoulder; while the pain was minimal, it was still enough, combined with the surprise, to cause the zebra to drop his pipe.
After a moment, he looked down at the dropped pipe and commented, "Lesson learned, I suppose; think fast and act faster."

[Pike Vanguard]

The stallion grinned at the zebra, placing his pipe down next to him and stretching out a little. His joints cracked some more, "Plus, an opponent will always use their energy and strength if they can." Gasping in fatigue, Pike picked up the pipe and leaned on it. "In my case, that was all I could do then. If you'd outlasted me, I'd be the one without my spear to protect me."

The former guard stood straight and forced himself to breathe more shallow gasps of air. "Attack me like I did to you." he announced, keeping his center of gravity low.

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