[Nethan parries the first and barely, just barely, with a worryingly extended ring of metal, parries the second. His reflex when he registers the move a touch too late is to overcompensate, pushing Yuan's sword out farther than necessary, which in a real battle situation would leave him wide open.
He isn't trying to show off, but he doesn't want to be shown up, either. Stupid of him.
Nethan puts distance between them, resetting, rethinking. His shoulder aches. How did Yuan put that much strength into a blow so fast? You can account for speed, and you can account for brute force, but it's harder to account for them both at the same time. Nethan tries anyway. He ignores the ache in his shoulder and attacks again, this time without pausing in between each strike to assess, and without being stupid about it -- staying light on his feet and relying more on moving out of the way of Yuan's attacks than blocking them wholesale. He isn't aware of it, but there's a small smile on his face.
He's also not aware that they've started drawing a small crowd. Zelos, who's making sure no one's about to jump in and help Nethan beat down the unruly half-elf, is.]
no subject
He isn't trying to show off, but he doesn't want to be shown up, either. Stupid of him.
Nethan puts distance between them, resetting, rethinking. His shoulder aches. How did Yuan put that much strength into a blow so fast? You can account for speed, and you can account for brute force, but it's harder to account for them both at the same time. Nethan tries anyway. He ignores the ache in his shoulder and attacks again, this time without pausing in between each strike to assess, and without being stupid about it -- staying light on his feet and relying more on moving out of the way of Yuan's attacks than blocking them wholesale. He isn't aware of it, but there's a small smile on his face.
He's also not aware that they've started drawing a small crowd. Zelos, who's making sure no one's about to jump in and help Nethan beat down the unruly half-elf, is.]