6857/Asgardian PT

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Asgardian PT
Date of Scene: 09 July 2021
Location: North Woods
Synopsis: Sif and Thea go for a training session in the woods near Central Park. Cider vinegar is on the menu in the end .....
Cast of Characters: Sif, Thea Queen




Sif has posed:
"To give you fair chance, there are constraints," Sif had said as she prepared Thea for her freeform training exercise. "You may use any regular arrows: none of your trick affairs. I will use a pair of sticks." She held up the sticks for inspection. Battle-beaten fighting sticks. With suspicious staining. Well-worn. "There is no edge, but beware nonetheless: these are instruments of war. I will strive not to injure severely, but ..."

She'd let that trail off warningly.

"But the constraint. As you can see, this battleground has those who are not warriors. We must not be spotted committing acts of violence by any. If there is a hue and cry raised, the one who triggered it has lost. We can be seen, but not as warriors doing acts of war."

And then...

She was off, using her superior Asgardian physique and agility to disappear into the forest, the ghost of a strategem forming in her mind. There's a water feature. Get out of sight, get to the one called the Loch in the Ravine, and then just sit on the bottom, eyes open, waiting for Thea to cross her path.

And thus did the Asgardian Goddess of War find herself sitting cross-legged in the depths of the water, in her jeans and crop top, waiting quietly for Thea to appear and get stalked in return, war sticks held across her lap.

Thea Queen has posed:
Curiosity, mingled with anxiety had been ever-present on Thea as they had agreed to come for a freeform training exercise by Central Park. She wanted to improve, and she had done so under the guidance of both her brother, Roy or even Slade. A cocktail of trackers and killer(s) who had left her with quite the skills where it comes to tracking and ..., killing.

But would that be any good against an Asgardian? Her bets were on no, and not even Sif showing those sticks mattered much. They were sus, stained. Meant they had been used before. And she could do without a week in the hospital. Because she certainly didn't expect Sif to have another of those healing stones lying around!

Though maybe Thea should ask to get introduced to Heimdall and get favors out of him *directly*. Gold-digger!

Yet with those thoughts set aside she watches Sif run off into the wild. She brought a pair of jeans as well, hiking boots and a top, already too hot for anything much heavier. Bow and quiver were with her, but she had made sure to have brought a short one, more concealable, and collapsable to a pair of sticks as needed.

But so it was time to hunt and that was what she was doing, moving quietly through the forest and attempting to follow Sif's tracks alongside the trail, using her smaller size to move stealthily and quietly, starting to approach that body of water.

Sif has posed:
~The young one tracks like a hunter.~

Sif gave some grudging respect to Thea's skills at finding where she'd concealed herself so quickly. She'd resigned herself to having to feel her lungs slowly turn to fire as she waited, but here the youngster was already, clearly following a trail.

Patience was key.

She waited patiently, waited for Thea to pass her buy so she could rise out of the water and tap her shoulder with a stick, signifying a fatal blow and the end of the exercise.

Waited.

As Thea stopped.

Oh my, she wasn't going to look down, now, was she? Rookies never looked in water...

Thea Queen has posed:
The footsteps were marked deep in the ground. Firm, full of surety. Thea was certain there was a plan to this. Sif had made a beeline in this direction but ..., what was here? The Loch? Did Sif wanted to go for a swim?

~Least you could had done was warn me so I'd bring my bikini.~

But quickly enough her focus returns, sharp gaze watching the ground, the way it leads more or less to the water and close to a bridge across part of it. Did she jump *over* it? She had seen Sif do quite a few feats of extreme athletics back on Sweden. She imagines she could do so. But why?

She is stepping ever so close to the body of water. Maybe close enough that she could be hit by one of those sticks, her face visible but not looking down ..., yet.

Before she takes another step she looks sharply to a side and retreats back. Was there a witness about? At least Thea had heard something so she had went to hide behind a tree, waiting for whoever it was to run by, a figure appearing and running down the trail, just someone doing their morning jog.

Saved by the runner apparently! But it gives her more time to think on her options.

Sif has posed:
Looking down, yes, but amateur error. Looking at the point of ingress, not at the likely point of concealment. Sif started to rise behind Thea on the bridge. As Thea scanned the water, Sif floated up from behind ready to make a splashy entrance, drenching the girl while at the same time rebuking her with the st...

Damnable civilian!

Angrily Sif slipped back down, skulking in the shadows, only a faint blob of white giving away her position where her skin and shirt wasn't covered by her midnight hair.

~She would have been mine!~ she seethed, watching the prey skip back into cover while the unaware civilian cleared the field. ~It's time to think of other options. A surprise rush?~

The calculus of her speed against the human's proceeds apace, with huge question marks over the speed of that bow. One snapshot and Sif is rebuked instead.

...

No, one last attempt at the wait, but this time the exit will be swift, not quiet.

Thea Queen has posed:
That bridge is a very open place. Could it be used for an ambush? If she was out here with Slade he'd had most likely said no. Too open, your opponent has melee weapons. But he also would had told her to think out of the box, out of what she *expects*. Because there's nothing normal about an Asgardian. And she knew they had physical abilities beyond normal. But more than that, she also knows Sif is a master strategist.

So if she has to bet? Something doesn't smell right here.

Ollie would had told her to scout the grounds, study what you were getting into. And maybe she needed a new perspective in this. So she starts climbing, bow on her back and she holding on to the tree and moving up and upper. Sure, not Asgardian speed but she is rather nimble, holding on to a few supports she finds until she gets up on a branch, sitting on it to wait. Bit of a precarious balance, but she manages to stay leaned to the tree, hands on the bow now and her legs keeping her there. It would do.

She scans the waters, the bridge, then the other bank. "Next time I will have to remember to bring my binoculars ..."

Sif has posed:
No! NOW she chooses to show expertise! That annoying little mortal ... TRAINEE!

Sif grins under the water. Thea must be very good if she can actually annoy. Up in the trees now. High ground and good observation point. This presents a problem.

Slowly, trying to match water movements as much as possible, Sif slides across to be under the bridge and out of Thea's line of sight. Hopefully she won't spot the white form...

Once under, she more openly creeps forward to the base of the bridge, rising out of the water to crouch at the anchoring point. One stick sails through the air in a flat trajectory to make a solid sound at the base of a nearby tree, like someone rushing through the undergrowth to escape. The other is readied for a throw calculated to knock an irritating little human tick out of a tree if she's foolish enough to glance at the noise.

~Please. Be foolish. I only need you to look away for a moment...~

The first stick flies out and into the underbrush as Sif watches through the cracks of the bridge for Thea's response.

Thea Queen has posed:
Now. Where would Sif be? A bush somewhere, backtracking over her steps? No, she would had noticed something. So where ...?

The sound comes as a surprise. Nearby, on a tree. If Thea stopped to think a moment on it she'd figure out Sif wouldn't had made that kind of sound when moving in, or escaping. And besides, Sif doesn't retreat. Of course that considering all that in the split of a second only comes to those with years of practice on them and while Thea is smart and a quick study she still lacks those years of learning. Which makes it so instinct takes over, she sharply turning her head to the source of the sound. It's a mistake. The grimace on her expression shows just that even as she already starts to move and twisting on that tree.

The ruse does indeed work, even if Thea isn't hit squarely in the chest and tossed out of the tree, instead she had maneuvered just so already, body having twisted enough that she is hit on the shoulder instead.

Not that it helps overly much because even if she doesn't fall to the ground she loses her balance, legs only finding air and she flailing with one hand to keep herself up on the branch, legs dangling, bow only on one hand.

"Damn it." She hisses, knowing well the precarious position she is in right now.

Sif has posed:
The drenched form of the Goddess of War rises from the water's edge from behind the bridge. An approving, slightly sardonic, smile is etched over her face.

"You've done well, Thea Queen," she says, voice as dry as the rest of her isn't. "I was expecting this to be a triviality. It was not. I felt pressed."

Sif strolls forward under the tree where Thea's arm is slowly going numb from holding her whole weight like that.

"It is rare that a trainee presses me. I almost regret having to force you into the forfeit." The Asgardian warrior leans against the tree, sadistically watching Thea struggle to remain aloft. "You have said that you do not consume intoxicants, and while I do not understand that, I can respect your ways without comprehension." Her eyes flick to the water. "I had some time to think. Instead of a tall tankard of ale, I will replace it with a similarly tall tankard of ..."

Sif's eyes grow malicious in their evil.

"... cider vinegar."

Maybe if Thea just lets go she can hope for Sif to miss catching her. That way she'll die instead of drinking a quart of vinegar...

Thea Queen has posed:
How big of a fall are we talking about here? Thea considers choices. She can let go of the bow and pull herself up but that will leave her defenseless or ....

The hand with the bow flicks on a small switch on the short bow, having it collapse in two pieces, one that falls down to the ground but the other stays in her hand. A small stick. Smaller than the ones Sif was using but still usable to bring pain. "Lets see who drinks the cider!" she shouts defiantly, bringing the stick up to hold it between her teeth.

And now that she has use of both arms she uses it on the branch to swing herself back and forth before tossing herself down right in the direction of the waiting Sif, reaching for the stick between her teeth with one hand!

No surrender! That's what you get for pushing her with threats of vinegar cider!

Sif has posed:
This is an impressive act of defiance. It would have worked on almost any human just for the sheer chutzpah of it. But Sif isn't human. Surprised? Yes. Taken aback, even? Yes. But all processed ten times faster, so barely registering as a hesitation. Concerned for Thea's health, Sif steps out ready to catch, spotting the weapon attack and laughing.

All in the seconds it takes Thea to swing at her.

One arm catches Thea around the waist, Sif spinning around to minimize the harsh impact.

The other arm catches the incoming stick.

"No, no, no, Thea Queen," she chides her friend. "That is not going to happen. Vinegar."

As gently as possible, she takes the stick from Thea's hand while holding her as she might hold a log, gently swatting Thea. "This counts as a victory does it not?"

Laughing Sif sets Thea on the ground.

"You have made me proud to be your teacher, Thea Queen. You have skills. You have spirit. You are a true warrior at heart."