The Relief of Breathing {Open, Outlaws}

[Roe]

Roe heartily agreed that, indeed, it was not fair, but then, little in life ever was. "That's quite right, milady, but if this had been real life I would have decapitated your head with both swords, in an instant, before moving on to my next target. However, for now, you should try and familiarize yourself with the weapon I have given you."

"How heavy is it in relation to its balance in your hands, eh. Its not quite as big, long, or heavy as either of my two long-swords, but you should be able to handle it more effectively. How maneuverable is it in your hands .... that is a key question for you."

Despite the ease with which he had overwhelmed her at the beginning, he did sense that she ad received some training. Her next moves confirmed this to him, as she approached with her sword held high over her head. "Ah .... 'la costa de falcone .... the guard of the hawk .... someone has taken the time to teach you well."

[Thea Linnet]

"It feels strange," she told Roe while swinging the sword a bit. She switched it to her left hand experimentally and found it felt better there. "Hm," she mumbled as she tried moving the weapon with her new hand.

"And if I'm not allowed to call you Sir Rober', I think it's only fair that you aren't allowed to call me milady. Makes me feel old and far more important than I am."

"I would say he taught me well, but Runner was trained in combat before he worked for my father. He liked to show off," Thea grinned then tried an attack on his left side. Her brought the sword across her body, holding it so the blade was parallel to the ground. She moved the blade to just touch his shoulder.

"Sadly, that is about the extent of my knowledge. I know very little of offensive and almost nothing of defense." She drew the weapon back and waited for the next attack.

[Roe]

Roe nodded his head in an approving manner. "First we are only doing some practice here, and this blade was not made for you. You should have an experienced craftsman fashion a blade for you. However, the most important thing is tat you handle it in a way that is most comfortable for you, for now. If you can fight with it left-handed, you will find an advantage. Most right-handers feel uncomfortable and at a disadvantage against a lefty. That's why fighting with either or both hands works well for me."

Roe laughed openly at her remarks, but not at her. "You are most welcome to call me Sir Rober' if you wish, mainly since if we meet in the castle in front of other nobles, it will be expected. However, Roe is what my few friends and fellow outlaws call me, and of course my given name was Robert. So .... what names am I permitted to use with you, your ladyship? And for your information, I will never consider you to be old, and if I did not look at you as being important I wouldn't have been married to you the first time. You will always be important. I don't come to the aid of ladies multiple times who are not important, to me."

Roe thought that her natural skills and coordination were quite good, actually. "Well, that is quite a good move, but you need something to finish with as well, while keeping up a defense of some type. Remember, as long as it is one-on-one, you are tring to create an imbalance in your opponent, forcing him to over-correct, and providing you with an opening to exploit .... like this."

[Thea Linnet]

"Well, it's nice to know I'll have some advantage. I think I'll need it." She circled the meadow slowly, looking for some way she could get an advantage over Roe. Which seemed rather unlikely.

"What names can you use with me?" Thea lowered her sword, sending Roe a teasing smirk. "Thea, obviously, Birdie -that was Runner favourite-, Angel, You Highness and All Powerful One." Though she had said it all seriousness, her teasing smile gave her away. "Truthfully, Thea and Birdie are all I respond to. Except now I'm Lady Linnet, which sounds far too formal for my liking."

Thea lunged at Roe, sword ready and laughed as he spoke. "And here I thought you came to aid of anyone who needed you. Tsk, tsk, Roe. Do only important people get the gift of your aid?"

While she had been talking, he managed to get her into a submissive position, with no opening for an attack. "I believe paying attention is going to be one of the aspects I need to work on the most." She sighed and pulled away, letting the tip of her sword fall.

[Roe]

Roe thought to himself that she had quite a few advantages. It was hard for him to believe that she was not aware of them. "There are all kinds and manner of advantages .... one just has to be aware and skilled at using them, no matter what they are," he smiled.

"Very well, 'All Powerful One' will do, and 'Angel' is an obvious one. However, where on Earth did Birdie come from. Just for your information, its never a good idea to lower your defenses, especially with an evil one like me," he said, smirking right back. "I guess Thea will do in a pinch, but Birdie does intrigue me."

Roe thought her lowering of the sword was a trick, and she quickly proved him right by her lunge. "You misunderstand, there is a wide gulf between people who think they are important and those that are important to me. I'll leave it to you to figure out which group you belong,and which I will grant my aid in good measure. Also, you talk to much .... sometimes you focus too much on the words and not enough on the technique."

While she was distracted he was able to lay one sword on the nape of her neck and the other on her chest. "I think its one of the few aspects that you need to improve upon, unless of course you mean to talk them to death.

[Thea Linnet]

Thea blew the air out of her cheeks when, once again, Roe had her at a disadvantage. The sword at her chest would be rather easy to maneuver around, but the one at her neck stumped her completely. Then a light went off in her mind and a devious smirk came to her features. With her sword, she cast the one at her neck aside then brought her foot up and gave a fair push against Roe's chest, giving her about three feet to work in. However, as she pushed back, the sword at her chest caught her right arm and nicked her skin.

"I was so close," she whined as she took notice of the reddened wound. She wiped it clean then pushed the ivory cotton of her sleeve back over it. "Good as new."

"Aha, but that's where you're wrong, dear Roe." She pointed out while blocking some of his attacks. "Talking is a wonderful distraction, I find. And never underestimate my ability to talk someone to death. It can be done."

"You see," she pushed her blade to his shoulder, then began a series of quick attacks on him. "I can talk all I want, and though I might not have the best technique, it gives me an opportunity to confuse you. Like asking my name, for instance. Do you want to know?" she stopped and pulled back, quickly before continuing her attacks. "By the time I was thirteen, Runner thought I had become quite the little bird. He often accused me of teasing the other men around me. Can you believe it? Well, my father caught on and thought the name was suitable due to my last name. Linnet bird and the fact that I can barely sit still for more than a few moments. The name stuck. In fact, some people in Birmingham only know me by Birdie. Also fitting because my mother was once known as the Bird of Belfast, for a similar reason." She said all this quickly, letting the words just come from her mouth rather than think of them. Instead, she thought of her footing and movements and by the end of her tale, she had her sword pressed against Roe's gut.
"See?" she asked, a triumphant grin lighting up her face.

[Roe]

Roe knew he had a lot of physical advantages over Thea when it came to sword-fighting, even with the lower level of ability that he was using with her right now. He was too afraid that he would hurt her if he went all-out. Still, even with her disadvantages, he thought she was learning to adapt quite well. She had almost escaped the one sword ..... he had just managed to catch her, barely. He also had to admit that she was taking her bumps and her bruises well, almost as well as a real soldier might.

"Yes you were, and you are improving. Before long we will be able to move you up to the next skill level. It'll be a bit more dangerous, but I think your skills are approaching the necessary level. Just remember, cold water is the best for taking those blood stains out when you get back."

Roe didn't know how 'wrong' he was, but he did know that 'talk' could be a two-edged sword. Talking too much might ocvcupy her thoughts a bit too much, but it could also provide a distraction for her opponent as well. "Yes, I've noted that among several women that I have known. They had the ability bot h to talk and shop a body to death. I was almost comatose myself once," he laughed.

He could see that she was doing a good job of integrating her offensive moves the blade and the misdirection caused by her words. He was not using his best set of defensive moves, but still, it was good technique .... at least the best that she had used thus far. "An interesting tale .... Birdie ..... I think its time we moved you to the next skill level ... before you get too full of yourself, eh," he laughed.

[Thea Linnet]

A grin lit up Thea's face at Roe comment about improvement, but quickly dropped and with it, her arm. She wasn't sore yet, but the muscles in her arm felt hot from use. The sword was heavier than she thought.

"Not as easy as it looks," she said with a sigh and folded her legs beneath her. Sitting on the grass, she flipped the blade so the handle was facing Roe and smiled. "Perhaps we can carry on another time. I'm afraid I'm not as strong as I thought I was." It was hot in the summer sun and she could feel a bead of sweat slide down her spine.
"How do you manage to do that covered in armor and in the Saracen heat? It must be exhausting,"

[Roe]

Roe could see that his compliment registered quickly on her face. Sometimes it seemed that she was like a little girl, always looking for signs of approval. Still, he could see, as she quickly showed, that the weapon was quite heavy for her. Here reckoned that the sword was easily a quarter of her weight.

"Things rarely are," he said with a broad smile as he settled down slowly on the ground in front of her. He thought, actually, that she was deceptively strong. Despite that, he knew that in battle, the strategy to defeat her would be deceptively easy, given the fact that a broadsword was about 30 pounds in weight. "The strategy that would be employed against you would be to make you extend yourself with your sword, tiring you quickly, and leaving you open for an easy an vulnerable killing shot. You would be much better off with a short sword, one where with your feminine wiles, you might get in closer and do maximum damage."

Well,it was good to see that she appreciated its difficulty, along with the problems of climate. "Sure, any time you would like a lesson just ask. Just don't get so good that you can kill me, eh? It is a matter of both strength and durability, actually. When we are testing new fighters for strength we ask them to take their sword and try to hold the sword out straight from their body, parallel to the ground. It is something that few can accomplish."

Roe stood up, withdrew both of his 30-pound swords and held them both, at the same tome away from his body, parallel to the ground, for several seconds. "You see, a young man who has been trained as a carpenter and woodsman with hammer, saw, and axe, will often have a strength advantage over others, and once you have the strength part mastered, you can work on endurance and technique and master them better than others, since your strength gives you maximum control over your weapons. It also helps to be neither right-handed or left-handed, since you can quickly use your ability to fight with bot hands equally well, to use that as advantage over your opponent. Enough about fighting skills, though ..... I am sure you have other questions you would like to ask, eh?"

[Thea Linnet]

Thea listened intently to Roe, making mental notes about what he'd said. It was great advice really, anything to stop her from getting killed. He suggested a short sword for her, saying that the smaller sword, with the help of her charms, would work to her advantage.

"Is there time for that while you're fighting?" Thea asked, thinking it would awfully hard to think about saving your skin while trying to flirt your way out of the fight. "Or do you mean...other means of distraction?" She arced one of her eyebrows at him and gave a light laugh.

"Roe, I don't think you have to worry about he beating you anytime soon." She rolled her eyes and rubbed her left forearm. It was strange to feel those muscles burn, since she'd rarely used them before. When Roe pulled out both his swords and held them out, Thea groaned, imagining how hard that would be if she tried. Actually, when she thought about it, it was more likely that she would topple forwards upon picking up one. The scene played out in her head, making her laugh irrepressible giggles.

"I will never be able to do that," she told Roe when he sat back down. "I'd probably pitch myself to the ground if I tried." They enjoyed a moment of silence before Roe asked if she had other questions. And for once in her life, she didn't have any on the tip of her tongue. She sat for a moment, just looking at him then laughed.

"The impossible has been done! I've been rendered speechless!" She threw her arms in the air and fell back with a giggle. "Impossible," she muttered, "simply impossible. Wait!" she sprang up to her knees, a thought coming to her.

"What are you going to do after this? I mean, are you to stay in Nottingham for the rest of your life? Or do you have plans on going elsewhere? France, perhaps. Maybe just to a small village near by? Or are you going to head of guard in the castle until the end?"

[Roe]

Roe noticed how closely that Thea listened to the things that he told her. He had never, outside of the Crusades, had anyone listen so intently to advice or anything else he might be saying. He wondered if it was a consequence of age, or maybe of something else she was feeling for him. He thought that perhaps he would fimd out .... he hoped that he would soon. He wondered for example what woud happen to his relationship with Isabella, and how that woud be affected by Thea.

Roe laughed at both of her remarks "With you I would say there is always time for that, especially since it is one of your weapons, and a most effective one at that. You haver got to be one of the most distracting creatures I have ever come across, with some abilities, I think that you are now only beginning to appreciate."

Roe felt that Thea underestimated here many abilities much too greatly. "Actually, I think that some of your abilities could make me quite vulnerable well before you would ever have to employ the sword, my lady Linnet. I just don't think that you appreciate yet all that you might be capable of."

Roe had sat down after his short demonstration of strength. He thought that she might be deceiving him yet again, but she did seem to be impressed. Such things that appealed to the ego of a man was appreciated by Roe, as it would most. "Well, most women are not built for such demonstrations of power. They are built for other things. Speechless?! My, I never though that I could accomplish such a feat!"

Finally, though, she did recover with some questions. "I knew that I could not hold you speechless for long, for I think that you mind is always in motion, and your mouth follows close behind. The only other time that I held you speechless was when I was keeping your lips busy doing other things. Well, although I am a knight , I am a French/Frankish one, and have no lands or property here, except the Scarlett place. When it is over, I expect that I will let the Scarlett boys take it over, and I will move to someplace without a carpenter, like Clun .... somewhere close to Sherwood and establish myself as a Carpenter there. No, the guards is just a cover or spy work for the outlaws. So, yes, I expect to stay in England, as long as I escape the hangman's noose. And you?"

[Thea Linnet]

Thea's light laugh filled the meadow, adding to nature's music. "It seems you know more about my own skills than I do, Roe. I suppose I'll have to practice charming innocent, unsuspecting men if I want to win a sword fight. Poor Nottingham won't know what's been unleashed upon them," she gave a sad sigh and shook her head. "Though, it's not the most unappealing of work, now is it?" She gave Roe and look and hit his arm.

"I'd watch what you say, sir, or else you'll turn me into Nottingham's youngest coquette." But as she considered it, she understood that she did have some advantage over other sparring partners. She thought back to their first meeting and realized that she did indeed have the ability to distract men, if not easily, quickly. But she looked at Roe and realized that despite what he said about being able to have him vulnerable before even taking up a sword, she suspected she didn't have quite that effect on him. As he had said before, he was immune to her womanly affronts.

She blushed when Roe spoke of keeping her lips busy, and covered her mouth with a pale hand. "It seems to be the only way anyone can get me to be quite. I sometimes suspect I talk in my sleep as well. Wouldn't be surprised at all."

She considered his question, but only shrugged. "I'll stay in Nottingham for now. Birmingham doesn't quite feel like home yet, being empty and all. I'm determined to do something of value before leaving this shire. Maybe come across Robin Hood and help him, or even taking my uncle down a peg. Something to counterbalance the absolute mess I've done so far."

[Roe]

Roe thought to himself that she was simply not taking a clear consideration of her talents or abilities. Plus, he thought for a moment, he had not heard anything quite so beautiful, or so proper an addition to the forest's music as her laugh. Quickly though, he shook such thoughts out of his head. "It is often the case that others are the best to evaluate our talents. We often don't take ourselves seriously enough to adequately evaluate, and you are a good example of that."

Roe laughed at her words again. "I think that that you need blessed little practice at charming men," he said with slightest of blushes that was mostly hidden by his beard. "I don't doubt that all of Nottingham will not both fear and adore your presence. Given your relatives, I would think the Sheriff would look at you as being a most effective weapon in his arsenal if you chose to use your talents for his design, which of course would be a threat to all of England," he smiled. Roe reacted in mock pain to her vicious assault.

"Of course in normal circumstances I have no reason to watch what I say, since I always have my swords to back me up, but you might actually be able to disarm me before I had the chance to use them," he said with as serious a face that he could feign, so that he would not laugh. He now, noticed to his amusement, that she blushed as well. "Is that a new make-up that you are using, my dear lady, that brings the red out in your cheeks so?" Roe moved his nose, and therefore his lips in close to her cheek, and sniffed. "Funny, I don't smell a perfume a new make-up .... strange," he said smiling slightly. "Hmmm ..... it would be interesting to hear what you had on your mind!"

Roe turned extremely serious once more. "I'm sure Robin will accept whatever aid that you can find to grant him. I just would hope that when you leave its not permanent, unless you are planning to kidnap me," he laughed. "And what mess have you actually done thus far milady?"

[Thea Linnet]

"Roe, I don't think I'm capable of charming the whole of Nottingham. In fact, I can name one person that says they are immune to my charms, though I'm beginning to doubt the truth in his claim." She didn't notice his blush, but acknowledged a slight change in his expression.

"Roe," she said as a warning as his face brushed against hers. "You know it is no make-up that makes me blush, you presence seems to have that effect on me. And you do not want to know what sort of sinister thought I have floating around in my head." As he moved closer, her heart betrayed her again and beat wildly against her chest. She put both her hands on his shoulders and gave a him a fair push.

"You are going to make me mad, so stop it. Do you enjoy teasing me like this? Because even though I may want this," she waved to both of them, "and believe me, I want it, I know you don't. If you continue with this...this torment, I will end up doing something we both regret, alright? So I advise you to stop unless you feel the same way." She looked at Roe and waited patiently, perhaps for the first time in her life, for his answer.

[Roe]

Roe did not think she had any natural doubts of her many abilities. He thought it possible, though, that she had her own doubts ..... she just couldn't reveal them to anyone else. "I haven't the slightest idea who you might be referring to here. Besides, if I you felt that it was necessary to charm the whole of Nottingham you would give it your best shot."

"Now Thea, you know as well as I do that you could do so much better than me. Personally, I don't know why I would have any effect on you, unless its just natural for you to go for older men. Really? .... A sinister thought? I would have bet that I was not capable of stirring such a thing up long ago. I would be interested in knowing what its nature was," he smiled somewhat slyly.

"When it comes to this you have never tryed to explain yourself, oh lady of many words. So, I have no idea what is making you mad, and therefore, exatly what I'm supposed to stop. That is, unless you just want me to go away. I would understand that. I've had that effect on many people in the past," he smiled.

"You surely do know what 'this' is I take it. But I guess you never want to come out and say it. I guess that means you want me to, is that it. I'm sorry, but I don't look at it as teasing, but as testing I suppose. When we played our little game it did get your lands back, but it probably destroyed what chance Isabella and I might have had. So right now I don't know what I want or what I should expect to have, if anything. Right now, I don't expect to have anything. I'm sure that is not the answer you want or were looking for, but I'm not generally that impulsive. So, don't judge what I want or don't want. Besides, what is it exactly that you are afraid that you'll do anyway?"