Suit yourself. [ A shrug and Iorveth drops the sticks, picking up his actual swords. You're lucky he's not grabbing the bow, or you'd be a pincushion in seconds.
If Rapheal's so confident and headstrong, wishing to be taken seriously, then he will. He begins pacing, eyes sharp in the way he'd regard any other opponent - fierce and cold.
As are his words. ]
If you refuse to learn from your enemies, it's your ignorance that will kill you. Not them.
[Everything in Iorveth's stance changes; it's predatory, and Raphael feels a stab of adrenaline in response. It's definitely not fear. Raphael isn't scared of anything, ever, no matter what.
Instead Raphael switches to a more defensive stance. He can do this; the guy has swords, he has sais. He has a tactical advantage, to so speak. He just has to get in there and knock him down before he can build up steam.]
It's about time.
[Raphael decides to do his trademark idiot move that Splinter surely never taught him to do, because it's a bad move. He runs to the side, rebounds off a tree and dives toward Iorveth, sais pointed out to impale him. Easy to dodge, terrible strategy, but he's gonna prove that he's already learned everything he needs to know to win a fight.
[ Raphael, you never learn, do you? But Iorveth isn't so much as taking the moment to laugh. Incredibly easy to dodge for someone who'd fought so many idiot infantry soldiers who knew nothing about a real mastery of swordsmanship.
He gives the slightest duck to the side, only enough to avoid the sais but not create much more distance, and a sword follows the movement behind him, finely sharpened blade slicing across the back of Raph's right hand, only deep enough to really hurt like a bitch but not permanently damaging. The motion flows smoothly into a sharp turn and there's the sole of Iorveth's boot slamming into the back of Raphael's shell, shoving him forward to collide with the tree he'd just rebounded from, and as the elf moves back in to bring the blade to hover over the turtle's throat, it passes the left hand to drag a similar cut over it.
He speaks in a mild tone, cold and no longer amused. ]
Congratulations. Were I less merciful you would have lost your hands.
[ He shoves away, reattaching his swords to his hips and picks up his bow, grabbing at a low tree branch to begin pulling himself back up. ]
[There's a heavy THUCK above Iorveth's head; a sai wobbles, buried just enough in the wood for it to stay horizontal.]
I'm not done!
[But he is, Raphael's finished. He's breathing heavily and the cuts on his hands are soaking into the wrappings around his knuckles. He can't grip his other sai the way he wants to, his teeth are stained with a little bit of blood from where he'd bitten the inside of his mouth and dirt from all the falls he's taken. He's filthy and bruised and tired.
He still stands there, glaring at Iorveth. He's just a kid desperate to prove his worth, looking for respect in all the wrong places.]
[ There's just a tired sigh for the sai thudded into the tree branch. He finishes pulling himself the rest of the way up before squatting down on the low branch, staring down. ]
You are.
[ The sai is yanked out of the wood and Iorveth stands, holding it at one end as he surveys the forest beyond them. Takes aim aaaaand throws it. Somewhere a few trees away it'll be stuck in the bark slightly higher up than Raphael can reach without needing to jump. He glances back down to him with a gaze that is completely dismissing. ]
Return when you're ready to learn.
[ And the elf turns his back, pulling himself the rest of the way up into the denser branches of the tree. He'll be ignoring any other comments. ]
[Raph stands there, rants and raves. Screams up at the tree about how Iorveth thinks he's so much better, about how Raphael could have taken him, about how he'll show him something he doesn't know, etc.
But it's all just hot air and when he finally gives up he storms off, locates his sai and yanks it out of the tree before dropping to the ground, tired. He sits there and collects his thoughts. Thinks about what Splinter would have him do at a time like this, unwilling to admit to himself how badly he misses his father but unable to think of anything else right now.
He looks up. At the trees, the foliage around him. Looks back over in Iorveth's direction. Then he picks up his weapons and trudges back home to rest.]
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no subject
If Rapheal's so confident and headstrong, wishing to be taken seriously, then he will. He begins pacing, eyes sharp in the way he'd regard any other opponent - fierce and cold.
As are his words. ]
If you refuse to learn from your enemies, it's your ignorance that will kill you. Not them.
no subject
Instead Raphael switches to a more defensive stance. He can do this; the guy has swords, he has sais. He has a tactical advantage, to so speak. He just has to get in there and knock him down before he can build up steam.]
It's about time.
[Raphael decides to do his trademark idiot move that Splinter surely never taught him to do, because it's a bad move. He runs to the side, rebounds off a tree and dives toward Iorveth, sais pointed out to impale him. Easy to dodge, terrible strategy, but he's gonna prove that he's already learned everything he needs to know to win a fight.
no subject
He gives the slightest duck to the side, only enough to avoid the sais but not create much more distance, and a sword follows the movement behind him, finely sharpened blade slicing across the back of Raph's right hand, only deep enough to really hurt like a bitch but not permanently damaging. The motion flows smoothly into a sharp turn and there's the sole of Iorveth's boot slamming into the back of Raphael's shell, shoving him forward to collide with the tree he'd just rebounded from, and as the elf moves back in to bring the blade to hover over the turtle's throat, it passes the left hand to drag a similar cut over it.
He speaks in a mild tone, cold and no longer amused. ]
Congratulations. Were I less merciful you would have lost your hands.
[ He shoves away, reattaching his swords to his hips and picks up his bow, grabbing at a low tree branch to begin pulling himself back up. ]
You've lost. Go home.
no subject
I'm not done!
[But he is, Raphael's finished. He's breathing heavily and the cuts on his hands are soaking into the wrappings around his knuckles. He can't grip his other sai the way he wants to, his teeth are stained with a little bit of blood from where he'd bitten the inside of his mouth and dirt from all the falls he's taken. He's filthy and bruised and tired.
He still stands there, glaring at Iorveth. He's just a kid desperate to prove his worth, looking for respect in all the wrong places.]
no subject
You are.
[ The sai is yanked out of the wood and Iorveth stands, holding it at one end as he surveys the forest beyond them. Takes aim aaaaand throws it. Somewhere a few trees away it'll be stuck in the bark slightly higher up than Raphael can reach without needing to jump. He glances back down to him with a gaze that is completely dismissing. ]
Return when you're ready to learn.
[ And the elf turns his back, pulling himself the rest of the way up into the denser branches of the tree. He'll be ignoring any other comments. ]
no subject
But it's all just hot air and when he finally gives up he storms off, locates his sai and yanks it out of the tree before dropping to the ground, tired. He sits there and collects his thoughts. Thinks about what Splinter would have him do at a time like this, unwilling to admit to himself how badly he misses his father but unable to think of anything else right now.
He looks up. At the trees, the foliage around him. Looks back over in Iorveth's direction. Then he picks up his weapons and trudges back home to rest.]