voice; locked to the unseelie

[digophelia]

[ Alice has switched to voice, from her usual pattern of video. This takes a lot for her to ask since Alice is not the least bit willing to ask for help from strangers. So she takes a breath, keeping it to the people she can somewhat rely on. They don't have her absolute trust, not yet. ]

I suppose I ought to introduce myself for those who don't know me. My name is Alice Liddell and I have gone along a few excursions with my fellow court members. It was not my intent to be so vested in these matters, but the livelihood of those I know mean a great deal to me. I'd rather not have anyone take anymore blows for me.

So I must ask... how does one go about improving offensive skills? I mean to say- [ With a small huff of frustration-] I have no form to pay someone, not yet. I hope that my sincerity in order to help my friends is enough.

I have my knife- the vorpal blade. It is meant to never dull and it will remain sharp and it can go through almost anything. In addition, I was given a sword when I first moved to the Station but I am not very good with it, not like those who I know. I have just recently acquired another weapon from my world that can best be described as a blunt weapon with a strange side effect.

Please understand -- there are so many skilled fighters here and I am nothing more than some maid and nanny to children. I'm not skilled in many things, but I owe it to those who risked their skins for me.

Comments

voice;

[silmarils]

[ .. ah. ]

Good day, Lady Alice. [ a brief, thoughtful pause. ] Your vorpal blade.. how much experience do you have with it? Are you entirely self-taught?

voice;

[digophelia]

[ She has to think about this for a moment. The complexity of the vorpal blade is one thing, but to gauge her experience, well- that takes her back to her troubled youth in which it was the only way she could get the staff away from her. ]

I am self-taught, yes. But with a knife, I don't remember when I picked it up since it was a necessity. It has been likely for a few years.

voice;

[silmarils]

And what is its reach? Is it a weight that feels comfortable in the hand?

[ he makes a small, musing noise. ] To learn, you may need to unlearn, as well. And the sword you were gifted may or may not suit your size. [ a part of him is disgusted that it was a necessity for a young girl to learn to defend herself, but.. if she's here, perhaps it's served her well enough. and better for her to know what she's doing. ]

1/2 voice;

[digophelia]

I don't think it would be possible for me to have a sword for my size. I'm small, even for my age. And it was actually Mr. Fëanáro who gave it to me.

[ Actually, that... that's not something she's sure of. Part of her is cursing herself because she feels that it's a stupid idea, that she's not strong. ]

video;

[digophelia]

[ Alice switches to the video feed after finding herself unsure how to answer that. It's an elaborate knife, carved with the flowers and vines of the Tuggly Woods -- not that anyone would know. It's almost like a kitchen knife but a little bigger. ]

It has always felt comfortable to me and as a matter of fact, I prefer it to the other weapons I've used. As for the reach, I am not sure.

[ It all comes back to the fact that Alice is very short and slender from years of malnourishment. ]

voice;

[silmarils]

[ she certainly is a slip of a girl. but that's no matter. in the end, it simply means she'll be lighter on her feet, faster, and therefore more suited to what he can teach. ]

.. If Atar is the one that gave it to you, I expect it is one of elvish make, or in a similar style. Still, if you prefer the vorpal blade, then that is what you should begin with. In truth, 'tis perhaps for the best, as it will not hinder movement or speed.

voice;

[of_the_lake]

Hm. You play quite the high value on nannies, then.

[Seriously she blew up Reynard with a Hobby Horse. Nannies are scary.]

voice;

[digophelia]

Don't say such things! You'll start to sound like one of the younger boys.

[ Insults aside, she doesn't see herself as strong, not compared to everyone else. ]

I'm not that good, not compared to you or Miss Grell. I mean it, don't do that again.

voice;

[of_the_lake]

I'm truly concerned for what you would consider to be 'strong' if not yourself.

[You blew. up. Reynard.]

[Also: IGNORING]

voice;

[digophelia]

[ And landed the first blow to the dragon, but not that matters. Luckily he can't see her rising, as if she's about to reach through the locket to throttle him. Suddenly, Alice finds herself snapping at him, after keeping it to herself for so long. She hates not having a hand in helping and hates to see others hurt when she feels like she can do more. ]

After what? After you took a blow and you were nearly torn in half thanks to Reynard?! I could have done more! All I could do was just stand there and it wasn't even remotely fair to you or Alyosha! If I was stronger, those situations wouldn't have happened in the first place!

And you wouldn't have gotten hurt!

voice;

[of_the_lake]

Alice. I trained my entire adolescent life, fought in countless battles and I had even been gifted with weapons, armor and blessings made to make me the perfect warrior in battle. [He didn't think much of his disadvantage, really. Fighting Reynard was the same as fighting a battle in which his own advantages were meager compared to the man's raw power.]

Despite this, each of Reynard's swings tore at my muscles and weakened me. Simply fending off his blows would kill most others. I had only done so well in that battle because of your assistance.

If you wish to become stronger, then I will not begrudge such a thing. Self-improvement is always important; however, I cannot say for a moment that you were without value in that battle. Without you, I would have been slain by the power of those shards. Reynard needed assistance, as did I--yet, I had greater assistance than he did.

video;

[extramural]

There is a side effect, then?

[ A pause, and- ]

I can offer my gift once more, my dear.

private - video; bitchy gossip time

[digophelia]

Yes. I knew it when I said it felt different. They did do something to it. When I used it against Reynard the Fox, it did something that it normally doesn't. He acted like a cornered beast the instant I hit him. As if it put fear in him. And as soon as that happened, the shards in him reacted and there was an explosion.

The knightmare only inflicted more of a blow on my enemies than the vorpal blade. It's slow, still, but it was never meant to do that.

[ Not that she's complaining, really. ]

Perhaps. But there may be a time I will need aid again.

private - video; BEST TIME

[extramural]

Perhaps it truly was built with the skeleton of a Puca, then, as you had joked.

[ Though he's not sure why that would cause an explosion, but the reading he's done seems to suggest that fear = Puca. ]

You know how to contact me, should you need to.

private - video; guuuurl

[digophelia]

...

[ She's still trying to figure that out, other than the shards. ]

What do Pucas do, then?

private - video; z-snaps

[extramural]

They are called nightmare horses and inspire fear via touch. It is said they know what you are most afraid of.

[ It's hard for him to imagine; he has not felt fear in a long, long time. ]

voice;

[fakers]

I've heard of strange methods to increase fighting ability quickly. Magic items or secret techniques that can bestow a person with incredibility skill in a short amount of time.

[ though from the tone of his voice, it's clear he doesn't think much of those methods. ]

But in the end, the only reliable way to hone your offense skills is training. Drilling movements into your body so they become second nature, rather than anything you need to consciously think about. It's not an easy thing to obtain, but I'm not aware of any shortcuts readily available here. At the very least, your weapons sound impressive. They may at least compensate for some inexperience.

voice;

[digophelia]

Well, I am certainly am not going to depend on magic or any other quick fixes. There are plenty of talented fighters with even the most impressive magic who can only hold their ground for so long.

[ Like buckethead up there. ]

Especially against things that are bigger than most. Like a dragon, for instance. They have years beyond me, I've only been fortunate enough to know these people that I've survived these excursions. I need to do better than that.

voice;

[fakers]

Do you regularly find yourself facing dragons here? [ for someone relatively new, that's good to know. ] Then it's no wonder you're eager to increase your skills.

Though facing a dragon with just a sword isn't something a beginner should even try. [ or anyone, for that matter. ]

voice;

[digophelia]

Well, I'm quite aware of that, seeing as I managed to climb up a dragon.

[ She really mustn't be sarcastic, but she can't help it. ]

For now, it was the only dragon I know of. Not unless something else comes along, something much worse. Like a Jabberwock.

voice;

[fakers]

In some ways, that sounds like a more impressive feat than defeating one.

[ it's a little hard to believe... but he can't really see why she'd be lying about this. ]

Then I take it you're looking for someone to train you?

sigh all this breaking hiatus [private video]

[bythewaves]

Alice? My brother said you wished to speak to me? Something about training?

omg lady [private video]

[digophelia]

Yes. He said that he would speak to you and I see that he did.

I CANT HELP IT

[bythewaves]

[ a quiet smile ]

My brother has always been good about keeping his word. What were you looking at learning, Alice? There is no finer swordsman than Maedhros that I have seen, and he is a good teacher as well.

[digophelia]

There isn't anything particular I want to learn, I just want to learn to fight better, is all.