Two Versus One

Lia

The grey coated twins made their way through the caves, heading towards the guard training area in the Owl’s Tail. Even from a distance, voices and the sound of antlers clashing could be heard echoing through the tunnels. Lia and Nia had training to get in, especially if the slim built doe recruits ever wanted to be taken seriously by the other guards.

When they arrived in the training area, Lia gave a sidelong look at her sister with a small smirk. She flicked her tail  to hit Nia on the flank before trotting off to a corner that the others had not claimed as of yet. She turned to face her sister face to face and lowered her ramess antler in an invitation. Nia answered with a small chuckle as she lowered her head and pawed the dirt, preparing to make the first hit.

Nia

Following her sister, she bowed her head with the smile across her muzzle, pawing at the dirt beneath her hooves. She made the first move charging to lock antlers in a mock fight. It was more of pushing each other around than going in for an actual fight. She bumped Lia’s hip so that the doe lost her footing and fell on her rump.

“I see I’m still the better fighter.” Taking a step back, she allowed her sister enough room to stand before smiling. She had prepared to lower her head again, before she saw a stag watching them from a short distance away. She cocked her hip and she flipped her tail so that her sister would know someone was near. “Can I help you?”

Saba

The greying stag had been making his way through the tunnels on his patrols. There hadn't been so much going on today, so he was rather bored. As he passed a puddle he boredly reached out with his magic, making the waters ripple. As he rounded one of the tunnels he suddenly spotted a doe walking up ahead. No, not one doe. Two. Wait, what? They looked exactly alike. Saba blinked his eyes rapidly. Was he seeing doubles? No, their paints were a little different and there were two distinctly voices talking back and forth to one another. One of them bumped into the other, causing her to fall. They were obviously sisters, no, twins. One of the does seemed to notice his presence then, looking back at him and asking if she could help him. “Sorry, you both look so much alike I thought perhaps I was seeing doubles.” Saba apologized for staring.

Lia:

The greyed doe saw her sister turn, so focused her attention on the stranger. The stag before them was mostly grey, with a light build. If he had not spoken, it was likely that Lia would have mistaken him for a doe at first glance. Flicking her ears to get he sister’s attention, she slightly smiled before turning her attention back to the stag. “It is often the case, my twin and I. Most cannot tell us apart...although most avoid us. My name is Lia…” and my name is Nia Lia paused so that her sister could speak, before they finished together in unison. “...We are recruits.”

Nia:

The two twins circled the stag one on each side before coming back to stand next to each other swaying their tails much like a mirror. “and my name is Nia” she had answered before they had spoken in unison. “What brings you down to this section of cave?”

Saba

He was becoming increasingly nervous as the two does circled him. He found himself taking control of the water nearby, in case he needed to defend himself. Perhaps he was being paranoid. When they introduced themselves they spoke in unison. It was unnerving. Their names even rhymed, Lia and Nia. One of them- Nia, he thought, by the sound of her voice- asked him what brought him to this section of the caves. “I'm a Guard.” He said simply. “So, I was just making my rounds is all.” He blinked at the two does, eyes flitting between the two. He wasn't sure who to look at. “What about yourselves?”

Lia:

It was interesting to watch the stag respond to them, although his reaction was not so unusual for those who were first meeting the does. “We are sparing a bit to work on our fighting skills, we still have a way to go before we can call ourselves full fledged guards.” Her tail flipped back and forth in unison with her sister’s as they spoke to the guard.

Nia:

The stag had mentioned being a guard and making his rounds. “Indeed, working quite hard in our training right sister?” Her tail flipped as well as she glanced to her sister. “Have you found anything interesting doing your rounds Sir Guard?”

Saba

Saba’s ears pricked as the does stated that they were sparring, in order to work on their fighting skills. One of them, Nia he thought, asked it he'd found anything interesting in his rounds. The greying stag shook his head. “No, nothing of interest really. Unless you call two identical does interesting, which I would.” he mused. “I've got a few spare minutes… perhaps we could do a little training between the three of us?”

Lia:

A smirk played on Lia’s muzzle when he said that they were interesting. “I suppose we would be considered interesting by some.” She flipped her tail at her sister so that Nia would know that she found the guard entertaining. The stag then mentioned wanting to train between the three of them. The doe cocked her head to the side as she looked at her sister. “What do you think Nia? I would like to, although it would be appropriate to know the stag’s name as he has yet to introduce himself other than being a guard.”

Nia:

She looked the stag over. “Yes, yes indeed sister. We told him our names. It would be more gentlemanly if he had would it not sister?” She pondered the thought of another spar and agreed with Lia that this stag was indeed entertaining. When others thought them weird or creepy the two took it in stride and decided to have fun with it. “Hmm sister I like the idea of a spar with this stag sister. One at a time? Or does this guard think he is strong enough to take on both of us? I mean we are only mere cadets learning to be guards after all?” She pinned her ears to one side and glanced to her sister indicating the moves they had been practicing off and on.

Saba

Both sisters more or less pointed out his rudeness by forgetting to introduce himself. “I'm sorry.” The greying stag apologized, ducking his head with modesty. “My name is Saba.” Nia seemed a little more venomous than her sister. There was mischief in her eyes and a swap in her step as she moved. She wondered aloud if he thought he could take on the both of them at once. She stated that they were both mere cadets, but he picked up on some sarcasm in their tones. “Just because you're cadets that doesn't mean that the two of you can't beat me.” He chuckled softly. “There's definitely an advantage to numbers… Perhaps you can both try me? Then we could spar separately.”

Lia:

Lia wanted to roll her eyes at her sister, of the two, Nia had inherited the all the attitude that the twins needed. She smiled at the stag when he introduced himself, before continuing on with the conversation. He had a little more trust in them than she did, sure they were two, but he was a full fledged soldier. Saba probably had at least a few years of experience ahead of them. Lia listened</i> to her sister when Nia made the short moves to tell Lia what she was thinking. Lifting her front leg slightly so that Nia would know she understood, Lia looked at the stag with a short smiled before bowing her head a little. “We would enjoy having a bit of sparring. First both and then one after the other, we accept your proposal.”

Nia

Nai nodded in agreement. “This shall be fun.Good luck Saba.” She said finishing her sister words after she said “we accept your proposal.” She readied herself both sisters taking a similar prep stance. “Ready sister?” She asked not taking her eyes off the stag.

Saba

The does accepted his proposal, Nia wishing him luck and stating that this would be fun. She asked her sister if she was ready, but her eyes never left Saba. The slender stag settled himself into a fighting stance, head lowered and rack ready to defend himself. He watched the two does closely, ready for them to make their move. Then, he decided that perhaps he should be the one to attack first… He could get the upperhand. The pale stag hurled himself forwards, charging towards the sisters head-on.

Lia:

Spreading out her hooves to ground herself, she lowered her head a bit in invitation. Her muscles tensed as she watched the stag in front of her. Just as she were about to make a move, Saba darted forward in a full charge, trying to catch them unprepared. Lia rolled to her left, letting Nia meet Saba head on while she attempted to come up from behind.

Nia:

Nai watched as Saba charged. Her eyes glanced to Lia before watching her roll off to the side. Nia braced herself. As the impact came she dug into the dirt pushing back against the stag.

This stag was indeed strong but she worked hard to hold him off giving her sister a chance to attack from behind.

Saba

Lia moved out of the way in time to avoid his attack. He angled his charge towards the other sister, hitting her hard. He wasn't a big stag, but he was still strong. Straining against Nia, he tried to keep pushing her backwards. He knew Lia was still there though, free from his attack. She would launch her own soon and he would have to be ready. The stag’s green eyes kept flicking about, focused on searching for Lia’s attack, but the rest of his body concentrating on pushing Nia around. If he did it right, he'd be able to make her lose her balance and fall.

Lia:

Lia watched Nia take the brunt of Saba’s attack, their antlers hooked together. She could see Saba trying to watch her as he worked on Nia’s defense. She took a few steps behind him, hoping he could no longer see where she was about to attack. Taking her chance, she made to hit Saba in the back of legs to knock him off balance, hopefully giving Nia the advantage.

Nia:

Nia eeped a bit as the stag was shoved at her. She was unsure if her sister had attacked or the stag was finding reserved strength or if he was losing balance. However, she could not hold him in place anymore as she herself was losing balance. So instead she deflected his strength off to her left pushing his rack towards the mud next to her as she herself fell rolling once smearing her paint. She hurried to get back up in case he had not fallen. Nia glanced to her sister and nodded silently indicating their next move.

Saba

As suspected, the sisters worked together. Lia knocked his hindlegs out from beneath him. At the same time, Nia used his own weight against him and caused them both to crash onto the cave floor. Saba immediately reached again for his magic. Who had said that this was a physical fight only? Using his magic, he caused the nearby water to rush forwards and hopefully knock Nia down as well, before she was able to land a solid blow on him. The water made the floor slick though, causing his hooves to scrabble as he tried to rise.

Nia:

Nia narrowed her eyes and glanced to her sister flicking her ears back indicating their next move. Before she had a chance though she was thrown to the floor by water. She was drenched from head to hoof in water having not expected magic. The twins both used their magic to make water stream up in front of them then forced the two streams together. It looked as if they were combining their magic somehow but really the water each twin was focusing on was trying to occupy the same space as the other’s water was. The water rose about to lash out at Saba. It was a mesmerizing but yet terrifying sight to witness. They water writhed and rippled twisting around itself angrily before the twins cast it at their target hoping it would make contact. Nia soon lost her footing on the wet floor and lost her energy and focus on her half of the water and came tumbling hard onto the floor.

Lia:

Making contact with Saba, Lia managed to knock the stag off balance. Watching him crash to the ground, she almost missed him using his magic to go after the twins. Lia smiled at her sister as they used their magic together to attack Saba. Lia had thought ahead to get the water out from her hooves, but it seemed Nia had not. As Nia’s magic failed, Lia’s magic no longer had something to push against, so the water went flying off to the side of Saba before she could regain control.

Saba

Obviously summoning his magic hadn't been the greatest of ideas. They used their own, combining the use of both of their magic to send huge waves crashing down upon him. He saw Nia fall too, briefly before those waves crashed down upon him. They were so forceful that they swept him clear off his feet, sending him tumbling to the far side of the cave until they receded. Saba simply lay there for a moment, panting heavily from fatigue. When he finally sat up and looked around he saw Nia on the ground, Lia still standing. They both looked as exhausted as he felt. “Damn, girls!” He exclaimed. “I think we all overdid it a bit!” He kept his hold on his magic; just in case they might try to attack him once again. Hauling himself to his feet, he stood there and wobbled for a moment. “I don't know about you, but… I'm not so sure I'm ready for individual rounds yet. You're both formidable foes together… I definitely suggest you fight your battles together, rather than apart.”

Nia:

Nia breathed heavily being quite exhausted. “You fought well…” She glanced to Lia before standing up shakily. “Did he not Sister?” She got her self balanced and found her spot standing once again in mirror image of her sister almost seeming to be more comfortable at Lia’s side. “We train together and although inexperienced…..” She allowed Lia to finish her sentence before they both spoke in unison. “We appreciate your suggestion and agree as we have never been separated never venturing to far from the other.” She looked to her sister their movements matched.

Lia:

A smile slowly grew on Lia’s muzzle as she looked at Saba fall. It was not so often they were able to win against those with more experience. She knew that if Saba had not used magic, they probably would have lost just because of the stag’s greater strength. As Saba stood, Lia kept her magic ready as well, watching the stag to make sure he did not try to give them false security. Nia came to stand next to Lia and they began to mirror each other again. “... we do have a better chance when fighting together. We appreciate your suggestion and agree as we have never been separated never venturing to far from the other. Perhaps we can meet again one day and try individual rounds next time.”

Saba:

The does appreciated his suggestions, stating that he had fought well. The guard puffed out his thin chest with surprise. “Thank you.” He gave Lia a grin as she suggested that perhaps they could meet again someday and try individual rounds. “I would be honored.” He dipped his head to the two does in response. It was time for them to part and there was one thing Saba knew for certain… he'd sleep well tonight!