I'll Make A Man Out Of You (Mordred)

[thegwaine]

Gwaine wasn’t altogether sure why he had been chosen to break in the new recruit. Well, he supposed her knew Mordred a little better than some of the other knights, bar Percival and of course Arthur, as they had all had to travel back from the Northern Land together. Gwaine shuddered a little. He wouldn’t be running up to that part of the country in a hurry anytime soon. It had been cold, miserable, and there hadn’t been any taverns. He had been honoured to lead men up there of course, and it was nothing short of a miracle that he had sort of achieved his mission. If you took away the bit where Arthur and Merlin had come to his and Percival’s aid, then it all sounded quite impressive. It had certainly been a story worth a free few ales upon his return to the tavern. As most of the men who drank in there didn’t go beyond Camelot, they were always fascinated by his tales as they were as close as the men would ever get to experiencing anything near that themselves. Gwaine knew how lucky he was to have seen all that he had in his years of travelling. He was a free spirit though, and perhaps Arthur recognised that which was why he was sent off on missions like that. Well, it was either that, or it was to give his fellow knights a rest from his never ending speaking. Gwaine chuckled to himself, he wouldn’t talk as much if everyone else contributed at least some of the time. Honestly...

Pulling his sword out of the ground, Gwaine began to practice with thin air, mostly getting his balance back. Since getting back from the mission in the northern lands he had done little but rest and drink. Only one of those had been prescribed by Gaius, though he couldn’t exactly remember which he had been told to take part in, and which he had been told to avoid. Again, he was grinning, and ran a hand through his already messy hair; making it look even more scruffy. He groaned a little as he shifted feet on a lunge; perhaps he should have had a little less ale. Gwaine knew that would never have happened in his train of thought, so that was some consolation. He yawned a little, even though it was afternoon. This wasn’t going to plan, but at least he didn’t have a hangover. That was his only triumph so far today.

Gwaine had been so busy with his self pity that he didn’t notice Mordred approaching him until the boy was nearly upon him. He thought nothing of it, as Gwaine wasn’t the most observant of people when he had other things on his mind; namely ale. He grinned at his new recruit, “Are you ready for your lesson?” He asked, not sure how much swordplay Mordred actually knew, “Sir Mordred?”

Tagged: Sir Mordred!
Timeline: After Arthur’s Bane
Location: The Training Grounds (Then probably the tavern.”
Notes: Couldn't resist the title, I'm sorry for the terrible reference XD[/color][/size]

[mordred]

If Mordred had had to pick one Knight that he would have thought unlikely to be a good training master, then the druid was honest enough to believe it would have been Gwaine. And yet, here they were. The man seemed nice enough - if not a little too focused on fun and ale - but there was something about him that just... unsettled Mordred.

Still, the request had been made by the King, and there was nothing that would not have Mordred complying. He stepped out into the training grounds, after having asked directions; still rather getting used to the layout of the Citydale. He spotted Gwaine through the drizzle, practicing with air, and he smiled a little. The brunette moved forward, one hand on the hilt of his sword as he did, bowing his head briefly in respect to Gwaine. "Ready as I will ever be, Sir Gwaine," he acknowledged softly. "I thank you for your time today." There was no harm trying to get on the man's good side by thanking him first, was there?

[small][nrp: I love the reference!]

[thegwaine]

Gwaine still wasn’t sure why he had been the one selected for this task. Perhaps Arthur had assumed that he would remain sober if he was given this kind of responsibility. Well, that kind of logic was working so far, as Gwaine had made a special effort to stay sober for the new recruit. No doubt he would be introduced into Gwaine’s special brand of drinking eventually, but this was better done in little doses rather than all at once. Half the knights already refused to drink with him because they were worried about the effect it had on their health; both mental and physical. Gwaine just called them rubbish drinkers, hardly anyone was good enough to keep up with him. Maybe Mordred was going to be a better drinker than the knights had been on the whole so far.

He grinned at Mordred and clapped him on the back, as was his way. He was determined to make a good impression at least. Gwaine knew there were those in Camelot who saw him as the knight who was only there to have a good time, but he knew he was worth more than that. Gwaine usually didn’t really care what others thought of him; he’d lived too long and he’d travelled too much to be bothered by it, but first impressions were important to him no matter who he was up against. Gwaine grinned at Mordred, “No problem, but just call me Gwaine, everyone else does.” He handed Mordred a sword, “Now, how familiar are you with one of these?” Gwaine’s idea was to start off with a sword, then to move onto the staff and then to daggers and perhaps even a bit of archery. Gwaine was one of the best shots with a crossbow and so he was the best to tutor it.

[mordred]

The other knight's slight grin caused Mordred to swallow uncertaintly, and the clap on his back did little to soothe him either. Either Gwaine was going to make a complete fool out of Mordred or... well, he didn't know. The other knight seemed so much more... easier going than the other Knights. The druid hadn't really spent much time wiht him, unsure of what conversation they would speak of, for they seemed to have so little in common. Perhaps that was why Arthur had set up this session, for them to get to know each other.

He nodded quietly at Gwaine's words, smiling slightly. "Gwaine. Then I insist you call me Mordred," it was only polite, and the "Sir" in front of his name still sounded a little strange to Mordred, who had had to keep in the shadows of the land for so, so long. He gave a shaky laugh, and a shake of the head. "I'm afraid not too well." he admitted, taking the sword and swinging it a little in the manner he'd seen others do, apparently to test the blade's strength. "I fear I am going to make rather a poor student for you, Sir Gwaine."


nrp: My deepest apologies for how long it has taken me to reply to this!

[thegwaine]

Gwaine couldn't recall doing anything like this before. He had always threatened to train up Griff's children when they actually came of age, well, he might get away with teaching the boy a bit of swordplay but not the girl, but he had never actually contemplated that he would be training up a fellow knight. Gwaine supposed he was qualified enough to do this, heck, he had seen and taken part in fights all over Albion, so he knew enough styles and techniques to keep any man on his toes. Putting his arrogance aside, Gwaine turned to face his pupil once more with his usual, easy grin on his face. Gwaine wondered how Mordred was coping with his new burdens. It wasn't for Gwaine to pry of course, but he had been knighted along with several others so he hadn't really been on his own in the same way that Mordred's knighting was. They weren't here to discuss their psychological states, though. So Gwaine decided it was probably best to crack on with the tuition.

He nodded; some of the knights preferred to be called by their title, some didn't. Perhaps Mordred would grow into it, or, like him, he might just choose to use his name on its own for the entirety of his knighthood. "As you wish; Mordred." He replied with a small grin on his face; Gwaine wasn't one to take himself too seriously, and so he shrugged a little and picked up his sword. Gwaine found the best lessons were practicals, but that might be dangerous if Mordred had never held a sword before. At least Merlin had years of practice of avoiding the knights blows; it might be unfair to expect that level of expertise from Mordred so soon after his knighting. Gwaine watched closely as Mordred grasped the sword, and inwardly smiled.

Taking his own sword in his hand, Gwaine stepped alongside Mordred to grab the knights attention. He outstretched his sword carefully, so as not to look like he was attacking Mordred; he was just giving him something to observe and nothing more. "Firstly, it's just Gwaine." He reminded, though his tone wasn't anything remotely harsh or hurt, "Secondly, hold your sword like this, you'll be able to get a better feel for your blade if you do it like this." Gwaine knew he was right, and so he hoped Mordred complied; this was a lesson after all and Gwaine was in charge. What a terrifying thought. "Exactly how often have you held a sword?"

[mordred]

Mordred gave a nervous swallow as the other Knight asked him to drop his title, too. He nodded, his eyes on Gwaine. "My apologies, Gwaine," he stated quietly, his eyes on the other man's sword, a little nervously. Listening quietly to Gwaine's instructions, the druid adjusted his grip, hoping he had it right, finding the feel of metal against his fingers... strange. Cold. Unfeeling. He shook the thought away, and managed a weak smile. "Is this right, S- Gwaine?"

At the question, the druid managed a soft smile, eyes flickering to Gwaine's. "Not often," he admitted. "Where I come from, weaponry was not given in the way of swords." Silently, he cursed himself. What a stupid thing to say out loud! And to someone who probably did not even know Mordred's druid past, as Arthur did. Unless... a frown graced Mordred's features. Unless Arthur was testing him. Getting this Gwaine to question him under the pretences of training. The druid forced away the thought, clearing his throat. Arthur was good, he reminded himself. A good, true, and just King. He had not Knighted the druid just to betray him... of that, Mordred was fairly certain.

[thegwaine]

Gwaine was trying to think back to how he had learnt to use a sword. He couldn’t remember the first time he had lifted a sword, he wasn’t sure if his memory was a real one of on that he had made up in his older years. There was a faint memory of a young, scruffy boy being handed a small, wooden sword by a much taller, and much older man. Gwaine couldn’t remember much about his father, and so he hated making things up about him. He was sure though that he had given him his first sword. Gwaine had hardly been apart from a sword ever since. He nodded at Mordred as the young man followed his actions almost completely. “It is.” He smiled reassuringly, it wasn’t that difficult once you got a grip of a sword. Most of the people they ended up fighting in Camelot, and beyond, didn’t use swords anyway.

So he wasn’t a swordsman by heritage? That was understandable, some men preferred different methods of fighting, such as with a bow or even with fists. “So what type of fighting do you prefer? Crossbows? Archery? Jousting?” To name a few, and he merely shrugged, he knew a little about each method of fighting, but recently his crossbow skills had become some of the best within Camelot, not that he was being egotistical in the slightest of course. Gwaine looked towards the arsenal of weaponry that they had in the field, “We can go through whatever you feel most comfortable in, and work on other bits later.”

[mordred]

The druid gave a soft smile as Gwaine attempted to encourage him by reassuring him that his stance was correct, feeling mildy reassured. Perhaps this wouldn't be so difficult, even if using a sword instead of magic didn't feel so odd. Mordred shrugged the feeling aside though; he had sworn off magic for as long as he could, to risk using it here, of all places, was a mistake to say the least.

"I've used a knife a few times," he said quietly, though he was fairly certain the other knight wouldn't find that an approrpiate method of fighting. "But truthfully, there was never much need for combat.... I'm afraid I might be rather a poor student." He was beginning to feel more and more uncomfortable - and if it wren't for his desire to prove himself to the Knights and to ARthur, he probably would have asked Gwaine to forget the whole thing. But he was a Knight now, and this was, surely, part of his duty. "I know a little hand to hand," he admitted. "But nothing much besides..."

[thegwaine]

Gwaine was still confident that they could get through this without any limbs being lost, or with any loss of life. That would be the ideal situation. Well, the ideal situation would have been an oral lesson that would have taken place in the tavern would have been ideal. Gwaine would have preferred that kind of lesson, but thinking about it, this was probably going to be more beneficial to Mordred to give him a lesson like this. He could always drag the young knight to the tavern after the lesson. After all, an ale would help him to quell the pain from the bruises that he was likely to gain throughout this short parry. Gwaine grinned a little. That had always been his excuse for his excessive amount of drinking anyway.

A knife was hardly going to help the boy in a fight. He doubted running at the enemy with a knife would ignite particular fear in the enemy. You could hardly spread someone to death. Right, they would probably need to just use a sword for the time being. It was the easiest thing to pick up on, and it was the knights first port of call in terms of weaponry. Gwaine shrugged, “It doesn’t matter, I’ll teach you enough for you to get a feel for your weapon.” The boy could only improve, you couldn’t get worse than complete ignorance. Gwaine took up his sword and motioned for Mordred to do the same. “Hold it again, like this.” He demonstrated the correct stance with a soft smile, and turned sideways onto Mordred. “Before we go into a duel, I’ll teach you some footwork and lunges, just follow me lead and try not to trip over onto your sword.” He grimaced a little, “Wounding yourself is never a good start.”

[mordred]

Mordred nodded, feeling a little more at ease with the other knight. At least Gwaine wasn't going to mock him for his lack of fighting skills or start pestering for information on the druid's history. That might have been awkward to say the least. He smiled a little. "Thankyou,"

His eyes watched Gwaine's movement as the man demonstrated his stance, and raised his sword up, moving his feet to mimik the other knight's stance, hoping he was getting it right. The druid nodded at Gwaine's words, trying not to feel too nervous. "I'll do my best, Sir Gwaine," He said quietly, the words almost a vow. And he would. He had a duty, after all, to protect Arthur... and he couldnt' do that with no knowledge of the sword, could he?

[thegwaine]

Well, as long as he knew how to hold a sword in the correct way they had started out on the right path. How you held a sword was key, as it laid the foundations for everything else that followed. You couldn’t build a house on rickety foundations, and it was the same with sword fighting. Mordred looked to have a natural stance, and Gwaine was suitably impressed. He began to move swiftly forwards, demonstrating a few lunges, and mostly emphasising on the footwork, and how to keep the balance of the sword whilst fighting. It wasn’t really all that technical, and most of it would require solitary practice; there was no point in making Mordred methodically repeat every small step. He would have to practice some of those things himself. Gwaine finally set down his sword again, and handed Mordred his hip flask, which was surprisingly filled with water for once, “Take a quick dink, you look like you need it.” He then put his sword in the ground and walked away from the boy for a few moments to pick up his sword.

Rejoining Mordred, Gwaine picked up his sword and shield and stood a few paces away from him; looking seriously on at the young lad. “Right, using what I’ve just taught you, come at me.” Gwaine’s stance was strong, but he had no intention of striking back at Mordred unless he absolutely had to. He was trying to urge Mordred to force some kind of attack on him, because he would only learn really by one on one combat. Practising by yourself was one thing, but it took a completely different manner of thinking to be able to use those skills to defend yourself, and to attack on the field of battle.

OOC: If you need to God Mod Gwaine go ahead, so long as he doesn’t lose a limb or something :’][/color][/size]

[mordred]

Mordred's eyes were on the Knight as Gwaine moved, quietly impressed by the other man's clearly natural talent for the swordery skills. With a swallow of nerves, he attempted to recreate them, tripping here and there a little, though as the training went on, so too grew his confidence. As they stopped briefly, Mordred was breathing heavily, though his eyes were shining. Perhaps he had misjudged how much he would... enjoy this. He smiled his thanks at Gwaine as he took the water, taking a long drink before passing it back. "You are a good teacher, Gwaine," he complimented softly, still a little out of breath. "I apologise if I am a poor student."

As the other knight ordered him to attack him, Mordred's eyes widened. "Are you certain?" he asked, feeling a little unsure. If he were to harm Gwaine, surely Arthur would have his head!! And if Gwaine were to harm him (which was more likely) what then? He hesitated a little, his eyes daring back and forth between Gwaine's face and his sword. Clearly though, the man was not joking, and so Mordred took a quick breath, tempted to close his eyes but keepeing them open as he charged at Gwaine, his sword flashing in the sunlight as he used the moves that the other knight had taught him.

ooc: please let me know if you want me to change anything! I apologise, it's not the best post!