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"Well, I have my gladius here, and I could stage an attack, which you would counter with a weapon of your choice, and vice versa" Liri explains. "We would, of course, try our best not to hit when the blow is not parried, but to learn from each other. a simple exercise."

"Very well," Calah says. "I accept your challenge." She pulls something out of a pouch and curls her left hand around it. "I am ready," she says. "When you feel prepared, come and get me." She stands in a stance which looks completely casual, awaiting Liri's move. Were it not for the keen focus showing in her eyes, Calah would look completely unready for an attack.

Liri raises her eyebrows. This was going to be more challenging than she expected, not just some exercise moves, but more realistic. Could she trust Calah not to injure her even if she got the chance? But there was no backing out now. Casually, she makes sure her gladius is ready to be drawn quickly, as she would do when going on patrol. Cautiously, she approaches Calah. "What have you got in your hand?" she asks in the crisp voice of an officer on duty.

The only shift in Calah's otherwise enigmatic expression is that a hint of a sly smile encroaches into her sharply intent eyes, and the left corner of her mouth upturns, barely perceptibly. In response to Liri's question, she says, "An integral part of my 'fighting style,' which you claim to wish to observe. If you wish to know, then start a fight." Calah continues to stand in her seemingly unready stance. Her right hand is empty and makes no apparent move towards any of the several weapons strapped in various sheathes all over her body. Her left hand is sitting naturally down by her hip in a position that would never belie the fact she is palming something had the observer not seen her withdraw something from her pouch. She again waits for Liri to make a move.

With her right hand, Liri makes a quick attempt to seize Calah's wrist.


(OOC: do we need to make attack rolls? Or rather a dexterity check? my roll is here, it would be a hit for AC 2 and a successful DEX check)

Angel turns a moment, watching the interaction, but ready to intervene if needed.

//OOC: For the benefit of others reading, Breila and I have discussed this OOC behind the scenes a little bit, if you don't see dice rolls.

As Liri moves forward trying to grab Calah's wrist, Calah's arm snaps up, and her fingers unfurl, releasing something small and dark colored that almost floats in the air in an arc towards Liri's face. Liri then grabs Calah's wrist, Calah's hand now fully extended, her now empty palm turned upwards.

Liri's body and head twist, following the movement of her arm, narrowly avoiding the thing Calah released. Almost losing her balance, she sidestaps, then grabs Calah by the upper arms, pinning them to the body. "What is this?" she asks, looking at the object that flew from Calah's hand to identify it.

Calah smirks slightly at Liri's question. "Let's give you a close up view," she says as the small item lands on the ground. With her arms pinned to her body, Calah follows right up, trying to take advantage of Liri's off balance and distracted state. She sets her feet and twists her upper body, her hardened abdominal and oblique muscles in full, sudden, explosive contraction. Her hip comes out a little bit, and Calah does her level best to roll Liri over her hip and leg and onto the ground.

With a small shout of surprise, Liri has to let go of Calah's arms, the hand that was numbed first a few days ago simply doesn't have the strength to hold on. She manages not to fall, however, but staggers a few feet sideways, landing on a knee.
She gets back on her feet. "It's good to know that I'm not fit for a fight yet" she comments with an appreciative nod to Calah. "And it's good to know we're on the same side. You're an enemy to be reckoned with." She massages her hand and wrist which suddenly feel kind of numb again, but that might just be her memory and imagination.

As Liri lets go and seems to let up, Calah steps back. She does not press the "contest" between the two of them, low that Liri seems to be stopping. She sets one foot back, however, and keeps her eyes focused on Liri with an intent focus that gives no hint to Calah's emotional state. "Does this mean we are done?" Calah says. "And if so, would you like to see what my initial weapon was?"

Galanis looks from time to time at the women practice, but most of the time checks on the girl to see if she still have that distraction effect around her.

Liri smiles at Calah. "I'm certainly not done practising yet, but I think I'd better get confident in my usual routines with Angel again before i tackle an unconventional fighter like you. and yes, I would be VERY interested in knowing your initial weapon."

Calah relaxes a little bit and walks over to where the object she tossed landed on the ground and stoops down to pick something up, palming it in her hand again. She turns around to face Liri, stretches her arm out towards her, and opens her hand, revealing something fuzzy. "Pocket lint," she says. "You were distracted, brought off balance, and lured into a close grappling situation you were physically unprepared for by a tuft of pocket lint that you did not expect." Calah's inflection, while conversationally natural, reveals nothing of the emotion behind her words. She says, "Before you wonder how to take this, I did not do it to embarrass you at your response to such a small thing. I did it to teach you something, something which you have the option of thinking about and incorporating into your own approach to battle in the future, as opposed to taking it personally, if you so choose." Again, her expression and inflection give a totally neutral presentation.

Liri does a small bow to Calah. "You do not need to apologise, I do not feel embarrassed.You have tought me a valuable lesson, one that no formal fighting training would provide. Thank you. Now, what would you recommend that someone, say, on patrol duty, should do to avoid being caught like I was now?"
Liri's tone is one of respect and willingness to learn.