The Grey Tower

Ria noticed the novice standing off to the side and waved her over, "Welcome, Novice. Please join us. We have not started yet, though I was just about to have everyone select one of the paint arrows to determine which team everyone will be on...and we are waiting to see if anyone else shows up." She added another arrow of each colour to the quiver.

"While we are waiting, everyone can grab one of the white jackets to put on over your clothes." Ria knew that Lys was familiar with the sparring arena, and assumed Amayani would be as well, but she wasn't sure about the newcomers. She also realized she hadn't yet introduced herself to the novice, "I am Riahana Gaidar, and I'm the one who organized our sparring session today. I have picked up sparring bows and the paint arrows and quivers from the armoury, but if any of you require other gear, like a sparring crossbow or a bracer, then please quickly visit the armory. We will wait before we get started!"

((OOC: ok...I like Bella's idea of not having to write with myself. Bella...do you want to put your npc with whatever team Lysira is not on for the same reason?))

Makenna listened and inferred that the equipment she needed to participate would be available and obvious once she arrived in the armory. Taking her leave to make the quick jaunt to retrieve that equipment, she was quickly back having picked up more than she thought. It turned out that the crossbow that she needed to use for this spar was much less powerful and came with tiny loads of paint on the ends of the bolts made for it. The outfitter in the weaponry hall babbled on in a bubbly way explaining to her about the physics and dynamics of it. Makenna employed her long practiced nod and smile accompanied with the occasional, "Oh really?" which seemed to satisfy the man completely. The armorer equipped her with a padded vest, knee and elbow pads and a leather helmet.

Donning a white jacket upon arrival back at the sparring field, Makenna discovered that everyone was just beginning to choose teams. She fully intended to be last to pull so that it would be fate that condemned her team to her membership rather than anything she had done to them. She knew it was a silly way to think but she was beginning to get happily excited about the upcoming contest and her reasoning was somewhat giddy. Fumbling and fiddling with her practice crossbow and her white jacket, adjusting her helmet and hanging back, she effectively waited her turn to be put on a team.

OOC Note before I post next: Going with Bella's idea to avoid us having to write with ourselves, the teams are going to break down like this:

Lysira, Artem and Makenna on team green
Riahana, Amayani and Bella's NPC on team red

Does that work for folks? If so, I'll see about a post soon. Bella, we can have your NPC show up at any point.

OOC: Works for me.

OOC: Sounds good to me. I'll try and get a post up very soon. Also, Bella, if you wish you can use my PSC as a translator. Miendha, she's an Aiel, and I've been using her as a translator for my mute novice now and then.

Ani Imirwyn Having read the notice, the Ji'dar Ani Imirwyn approached the group with their bows and white jackets. Even if this hadn't been the determined place to meet, they would have been impossible to miss. When she recognized the Mistress of Arms, however, she almost turned right around and left. She wasn't a timid woman, but she wasn't an arrogant or brash one either. The idea of sparring against someone of her rank...

Still. It said it was open to everyone, and she wasn't going to turn away. She wanted to improve upon her skills with the bow and so here she was. She approached the group so that they all could see--having no intention to walk up behind and startle a group like this--and bowed with respect. "If you have room, I would ask to join your spar. I am Ji'dar Ani Imirwyn."

(OOC: Appreciated, Marit! But I get weird about writing for characters that others have begun. Besides, who knows what insanity I may want to put this translator through. ;-P I'm sorry I was so delayed. Life has been insane. But the plan sounds good to me.)

Makenna was offered the quiver from which to pull an arrow and she found herself holding a green. Being directed to one side, she bounced the thing on her palm and walked out of the way. She was beginning to get excited for the match. She fully intended to try to hit everyone; other team members first, of course. But then, she barely knew how to load her crossbow, much less use the thing to effect. She watched as the others pulled their arrows and nodded to her team mates as they joined her. The newest person to join their group turned up on the other team and Makenna wondered if any of them were as raw in training as she was. The deferential way that everyone treated Amayani Gaidar seemed to indicate she was of some importance in the Yard but Makenna didn't care enough to ask.

As the group sorted itself out, Makenna decided to play with her practice crossbow and get more familiar with how it worked. She found the loading notch and the lever on the side that cranked it back into shooting position with a loaded spring. The cross-bar that held the spring seemed to be of two pieces instead of one as she was accustomed to. That didn't seem at first glance to make sense until she realized that this design could not be modified to make it shoot harder. It was never intended to even accidentally kill.

Glancing up, she saw the others getting ready to assign sides of the field and she directed her attention back to what was happening.

Yani returned Lysira's smile, and inclined her head in acknowledgment of her bow. Another piece of memory from her bow class clicked into place when Lysira's hands started to move. How could she not have remembered that the tiny woman didn't speak? And she'd never learned the sign language herself. Though she thought she could deduce some of the meaning behind Lysira's hand moves. Me and you were quite easy, and think? remember?. So Lysira remembered her as well, that warmed her heart.

She smiled at Riahana as well, the woman closer to her own age, or what her age should have been, and who had been a student under Lysira too.

"Indeed it will. Quite interesting," she said and turned back to Lysira. "I'm afraid I never got to learn your sign language. Maybe Riahana would be so kind and translate for me today?" She looked at Riahana with a hopeful smile. From the apparent conversation the two had had before she arrived, she assumed that Riahana understood Lysira's signs. "And I hope you'll teach me your language later."

She looked over at the newcomer arriving, a Ji'alantin who looked a little scared once he recognized her. She flashed him a disarming smile, hoping to ease his nerves a little, as Riahana did the same with words.

As they started getting ready for the spar, two more arrived. First a novice, who quickly left to gather a weapon from the armory, and returned with a crossbow. Interesting. Yani hadn't sparred against crossbows before. A crossbow had the benefit of being stronger without requiring much strength in the user, as well as an easier usage, though a drawback was its slow reload speed. Unless it was a repeating crossbow, which could fire several bolts before requiring reload, it had to be reloaded between each shot, and reloading a crossbow was slow work, though some bows quicker than others.

The last arrival was a Ji'dar, who had a similar reaction to the Ji'alantin upon seeing her. She suppressed a smile, and a sigh, at that. A smile because she remembered what it was like to come up against one of the Officers, and a sigh because she wasn't scary like some of her predecessors. Truly, she wasn't. But, all they could see was the Office, as she had once. It was a bit amusing that the novice, the one lowest in rank, wasn't scared of going up against her. At least no more than against any of the others. But then, she probably didn't know who she was.

After pulling out a red arrow, landing her on the red team, she smiled at her teammates, Riahana and Ani, pulled on the white jacked and filled her quiver with red-tipped arrows. She listened as Riahana explained the sparring arena and the rules, both of which were familiar to her from previous bouts in the area. Once that was done and it was clear there were no more uncertainties, she crossed the area with her teammates and headed up on the platform after Ani.

"My pleasure," she said to Riahana, and walked over to the bell. "Any last minute tactics?" she asked her teammates as she reached for the bell. Waiting only a short moment for a reply, as any time they spent discussing would only give the other team time to plan as well, she grabbed the bell string and pulled.

The bell rang clear across the sparring arena, and she counted to ten in her head before ringing twice more, the sound echoing from the bell on the far end.

The sparring match had begun.

((OOC: Ok, I kicked things off! Also, just a small notion, Bella. A female Ji would be a Ji'dar not a Ji'alantin. ))

Lysira Walker Gaidar The diminutive Gaidar made sure that her white jacket was fastened as snugly as possible. They were made to fit anyone who wore them within a certain range, which left a great amount of variation that could only be adjusted by the fastenings to each side. She did not make it so tight that it constricted her, of course, but an archer worked better when their clothing was not flapping about them and she made sure it did that as little as possible.

She had not replied anything directly to the Mistress of Arms, as the woman wouldn't understand her anyways, but did smile and incline her head in acknowledgement.

A green arrow... So she was on the green team, which placed her with the Ji'alantin and the Novice. Well, that was going to make things interesting. Two other people here that she knew and she wouldn't be teamed with either of them. Not that she was concerned, but it was a curiosity to her. She took in both of her teammates with her usual keen appraisal. The fact that the Novice was going to use a crossbow added an intriguing element, though for the sake of her opponents, she hoped the ones afforded to sparring didn't have the armor-piercing power of some. Even with the sparring arrow-heads, that could do some damage.

There was, of course, one added element of...interest. She didn't know if either of these two young ones knew signs.

As the green team ascended to their platform, Lysira looked at them both. 'Do either of you understand me?' she signed. She didn't want to waste time, as the bell would ring in moments, but she had to ask.

((OOC: I knew that! I really did. That's what happens when I write posts too fast. *shame* ))