One of Those Stupid Life or Death Things {Mordred et al}

[Lorelei Summer-Lac]

"Uh, I can fight, you know," Lorelei pointed out, looking from her brother to the guy she kept baiting. While she was betting that Tristian was just trying (and failing) to talk Mordred down, she still didn't appreciate yet more talk belittling her. She already knew she looked sad and pathetic compared to Mordred and that she didn't have much chance at actually winning. Plus, the almost pitying he gave her when he offered to be her second actually made her mad, which was definitely not going to help.

Mordred was definitely getting herself pumped up. Lorelei gave her sword a few swings herself, working out muscles. She'd practiced and made sure her blade was ready, just like Dad had taught her. Plus, she wanted to show that she could use the stupid thing when it came down to it.

"Wow, you sure know how to talk to women. No wonder you're so charming and definitely not a blowhard," Lorelei replied, again raising her sword, gripping it tight. Despite her flapping mouth, Lorelei was getting more scared by the moment. At least she hadn't started trembling yet.

Then Jesse showed up.

"Jesse! Bad Timing!" Lorelei said. She waved. "Get out of the way before you get hurt!" Though his joke had been pretty funny...

[Tristian]

‘Goddess give me the strength’ thought Tristian as Mordred continued to rage and Lorelei continued to bait him.

At first he had sympathised with his friend, but then he had realised how much Mordred really needed this. A chance to fight, a chance to get a win in, to feel useful at something. But by the gods he was making it difficult to support him right now. It did not help that this girl was one of his siblings (although he had yet to see proof of…oh there it was, yes that was definitely a ‘mum’ look) and thus he was torn between the man he was in love with and one of his sisters…must be Monday.

He couldn’t help but be a little hurt by his friends words though, didn’t he see that he was doing all of this for him? No, of course he didn’t, because Mordred LeFey never saw anything…which…in the end, was probably a good thing. It also hurt that he had clearly messaged this…whoever that girl was as well, the one with the coffees. Had he intended her to be his second rather than Tristian, he certainly hadn’t asked. He was going to bring it up but caught himself just in time, now wasn’t the time and place for these little jealousies. Someone needed to keep their head about them.

Instead he looked over at Mordred and smiled, the same smile he would have offered him if they had just been about to go in to one of their sparring sessions back home, hoping that this would be enough to quell him in his rage. “I wouldn’t dream of you going easy on me,” said Tristian calmly, “in fact I would be counting on it. And it’s only if she can’t find anyone else,” he looked at Lorelei and then back to Mordred, “I know it certainly doesn’t look like it but I’m fairly certain she’s family. Someone has to pick up the pieces.”

He was trying to turn the heated words back into what they should be, banter, the normal back and forth between a fight the two of them would have. He was still very much supportive of his friend and was desperately trying to convey that, however he knew the rage Mordred was in, it might be a while before that sunk in. However he continued to stand in between them, rather than walking over to Lorelei just yet.

He wasn’t going to let anything happen to her. He was sure now that they must have met but, he just couldn’t place her. And that look had been far too familiar, she was definitely a sibling, really they ought to have meetings or something. When Lorelei indicated she could fight Tristian shot the ‘Gwen’ look right back at her and said, “That remains to be seen. You talk a good game but actions speak louder than words dear sister, you’re going to have to prove it now.”

Which of course is when Jesse turned up.

Tristian looked over at him with a pained expression and echoing Lorelei’s sentiment said, “Not the time Jesse, although if you’re looking for some fun Lorelei here is looking for a second, meaning I can go back to referee.”

[Mordred Le Fey]

Mordred was done talking now. He was ready to fight - he needed to let off some steam and although this was guaranteed to be an embarrassingly short spar, with Lorelei inevitably embarrassed and ending up on her arse, Mordred was ready to swing his sword and land some blows, and the longer everyone talked the more angry he got.

"Whatever," He muttered as Tristian spoke to him, "let's just get on with it." His rage had blinded him to everything around him now, all he saw was Lorelei with a big red target mark on her. He didn't consider that his contacting Aiden might be a slap in the face to Tristian, nothing was entering his mind now except the fact that he needed to take this girl down.

And he was going to be taking this whole issue up with Meredith once this was over.

When Lorelei taunted him again, he threw a loud 'f*ck you' in her direction, with accompanying hand gesture. As Tristian gave his sister a pep talk, Mordred continued to pace, swinging his sword and breathing heavily in his rage. He saw Jesse turn up, and hearing his joke, swore again.

"If you do not get out of the way, I will stab you." He threatened, losing all sensibility in his fury. He turned again to Lorelei, making his way towards her and stopping just in front of. "Enough of this shit. If we're doing this, we're doing it now."

With a shout he swung his sword back and brought it down towards Lorelei with more force than was entirely necessary.

[Lorelei Summer-Lac]

Prove it now. Lorelei almost said something very rude to her brother at that, at the implication. Sure, everyone else in the Summer Clan just sort of was taken for being at least halfway competent... well, maybe not Jesse, but everyone else was. But Lorelei wasn't, oh no, not the bastard daughter of Lancelot du Lac. But for now, she just let his statement ride: she really needed to focus on Tristian.

You're going to be smaller than anyone you go up against in a fight. Literally anyone, but definitely one of those Camelot trained blowhards. Don't grapple them. Don't let them corner you. And don't fight by their rules.

The sword came whooshing down. Lorelei could literally feel the air moving, could all but hear the blade moving.

Don't think. Move

Lorelei stepped to the side, moving her sword up, not to lock with Mordred or block like another knight would probably do. Instead she slid it across his, redirecting the powerful blow so that it missed her completely. Lorelei moved forward then, stepping back, putting a little more distance, stepping back and purposefully away from Jesse. This had been her idea, after all, not his.

[Tristian]

And of course Mordred did what Mordred did best, whatever he damn well pleased regardless of the rules. There was a brief second when Tristian was about to move in and try and stop him, but then something interesting happened…Lorelei blocked him, not only that, but managed to move the swords in a direction that was not near Jesse. The swing that Mordred had swung her way looked like a strong one and yet she had channelled the force of it to her own ends.

“Huh,” said Tristian as he watched the fight, a somewhat impressed smile on his face, “I guess she is a Summer.”

He moved forward and pulled Jesse a little further back, moving him to his side and closer to where the girl with the coffees was. He was still following the fight, he didn’t actually want either of them to get hurt, and at first he thought it was more likely to be Lorelei…however he wasn‘t so sure now. Still, he would keep an eye on both of them.

[Jesse]

Jesse’s shoulders slumped. The joke didn’t work…maybe he had delivered it wrong…but he had said it that exact way that the book suggested. Perhaps the joke was a little too subtle, maybe that was it, although they had indicated that this was not the time. Maybe that was it, the book had suggested that timing was important when delivering a joke.

Then Mordred was swinging a sword down on the girl who knew his name. That had made him smile, most people didn’t both knowing his name, but she did. He wondered who she was and made a note that if she survived this encounter he would perhaps speak with her a little more. Although this fight was very interesting as well, the way Mordred had brought the sword down and then the force of it was transferred by the girls sword…fascinating. He was so fascinated he hadn’t realised he had been leaning in for a closer look.

Tristian pulled him back from the fight, and placed him beside the girl with the coffee. Perhaps now was the time, after all the fight was moving a bit away from them and the girl with the coffee might appreciate the distraction. He leaned in and with his happy (read: creepy) smile back in place said, “do you know, I hope this doesn’t take too long because I have to meet my friend at 12:59, I really appreciate that one to one time.”

[Aiden Mumble]

"Nice." Aiden said honestly to whoever this guy was that invited her to the "show." Maybe this was some we'rd play or maybe Mordred was like, really into LARPing. Aiden could only hope, because she could already tell she'd probably lose a fight to almost anyone here. She could maybe take a few of them psychologically, but unless they stood really still and let her punch them right in the face, she and Mordred were pretty doomed. Speaking of Mordred, he seemed to notice that she had arrived. Then he definitely grabbed the coffee she had been drinking at gave it back. At least he said thanks.

"Alright, you don't have to shout about it" She cringed when he screamed about killing Lorelei. Aiden still couldn't be sure if this was real, but if it was she could imagine Lorelei getting Mordred this pissed just by creeping on him with all her weird facts. Aiden felt like it was just easier to avoid Lorelei, but Mordred was a man of action. Besides, so far, it seemed like this guy standing between them had the situation under control. There was no use butting in. Aiden sipped her coffee quietly, trying not to think about her horrific headache. Why couldn't they have chosen to do this any other day?

So far it was just a lot of yelling insults and some other friend of Mordred's trying to calm him down. Lorelei called Mordred and blowhard and Aiden couldn't hold back a single barked laugh. "I mean...go Mordred." She tried to recover, hiding behind another sip of her coffee. Then some other kid came in that imminently made Aiden feel uncomfortable. He tried to make a joke. Aiden didn't laugh. He apparently had not been invited to LARP. Several people told him to get out of the way, Mordred threatened to stab him.

Whoa wait a second...

It dawned on Aiden slowly that this was for sure not pretend when she looked at Mordred closely and saw the rage in his eyes as he raised his sword. "oh, holy SHIT!" Aiden yelled involuntarily. She chocked on some of her coffee and started coughing. Aiden recovered in time to see that Lorelei was not dead. "Dude, this is like, a real fight!" She said to Tristian, you know, if case he didn't already know. Aiden had never seen a real sword fight before. Was she supposed to do something? The next thing she knew that creepy kid from earlier was next to her and speaking again. Aiden look at him, her eyes unreadable behind her sunglasses. She stared for a total of five seconds, said nothing, then turned away. What kind of a human says things like that? There was a actual sword fight to watch.

[Mordred Le Fey]

Mordred was oblivious to everyone around him now - it was only him and his opponent on the field as far as he was concerned. If anyone got in the way of his sword that was their problem; she had challenged him, she had baited him - he was only sorry it wasn't a duel to the death, because he really wanted to cause some serious damage to this girl. But, despite his unscrupulous behaviour and lack of morals in most other aspects of his life, he had been taught to fight like a knight, and knights had honour in duels. So he would fight to third blood, he would get this over with, and if she got hurt - which was inevitable, he wasn't going to hold back just because she was a girl - the so be it.

Her defence took him by surprise. His eyes widened slightly as she redirected his attack, but it was less than a second before his eyes darkened again and he stepped towards her, putting all his strength into his next blows. He parried quickly, figuring that if he moved quickly he would tire her out - her stamina couldn't possibly be as good as his - and then he would get his hits in and end this.

[Lorelei Summer-Lac]

Finally, things had gotten serious. Or, in the words of those watching: this was a real fight! Of course, another set of words, one that Lorelei just barely heard, stuck in her mind, hovered there and made her feel far better than she'd like to admit:

I guess she is a Summer

Lorelei seemed to spur into action, moving to continue moving and deflecting. Her sword flicked, sometimes just barely managing to redirect Mordred, sometimes doing so with what looked like actual skill. Lorelei could feel those hours her dad had insisted on this kicking in, muscles hearkening back to memories. She just had to keep going; he was bigger, moving a lot more than she was; he'd tire first.

The Summer-Lac girl's blade didn't even make any offensive moves, not yet. She just kept barely moving it, deflecting and dodging. Sweat was starting to bead, sticking a few loose strands to Lorelei's face, but she kept her gaze locked, not watching Mordred's sword, but watching his body, remembering his tells from far too much time stalking.

[Tristian]

Tristian first of all looked to the girl with the coffee and said, “Did Mordred not tell you?”

There was a little satisfaction in that thought, and his frostiness melted a little, he held his hand out to her and said, “Tristian Summer-Pendragon, a pleasure.”

When Jesse made another joke he couldn’t help but laugh, just as Mordred brought down his sword on Lorelei again.

Grabbing his attention once more, Tristian’s eyes followed the flow of the fight intently. Lorelei had done well on parrying the first strike, but she was going to need to get in an offensive one soon. He tried to figure out what method she was using, she was going to lose ground eventually as Mordred continued to come down on her with all his strength. Mordred did not look like he was thinking at all, pure rage was driving him forward, but muscle memory must have taken over with his form as he could still see the same skills he had been drilled in being used by his friend.

This was agony to watch. He might not know Lorelei all that well but she was family, and Mordred…well…that was even more complicated. He wanted to shout advice and encouragement, but wasn’t sure which one to shout too. Instead he moved and followed the fight.

[Jesse]

The girl did not seem impressed by his joke. Perhaps she did not get it. Perhaps she thought the idea that she had a friend was implausible so the rest of the joke did not make sense. That was fair, it only took the slightest error in the delivery to make a joke fall flat, or at least so he had heard. Although Tristian had laughed, he was kind that way.

The angry girl and Mordred were still fighting, it looked very intense and it was not clear yet which one would be the winner. He imagined it may come down to a margin of error, a mistake made by one of them, or perhaps when one became more tired out than the other. It was interesting, however he wasn’t very fond of violence, he wondered if they had tried discussing their problems before turning to fighting.

“Why exactly are they fighting?” asked Jesse of both of them, before turning back to the girl and saying, “and incidently, how do people make new mates? Asking for a friend.”

He added an eyebrow waggle, everyone always loved a good eyebrow waggle. They were hilarious.

[Mordred Le Fey]

So far, so good - she was on the defensive and he was definitely gaining ground. He could see her starting to struggle, see the beads of sweat forming on her head and face, and he allowed himself a smirk. She definitely had more skill than he had expected, but he had been right in thinking this was going to be quick, easy, and painless. For him, anyway.

His rage was ebbing as his arrogance rose - yes, he was still furious, yes, he still wanted to cause this girl some serious harm - but now he knew for sure how easy it was going to be he allowed himself a moment of ego and self-importance. "Is this all you've got?" He taunted Lorelei, smirking at her, his eyes cold.

Of course, with arrogance comes showboating and mistakes. Feeling proud of his superiority in this moment, he raised his sword in a heavy blow, turning his head slightly to make sure he had an audience, and leaving his right side completely undefended.

[Lorelei Summer-Lac]

Okay, okay, he was getting cocky. She could see that look, those eyes, the smirk. Anger rose up again, giving her another little flash, but her brain leapt forward at just the right moment to pounce on it, dragging it back. Just wait for it, he was starting to give into those worser demons of his, which was the whole point...

when you fight one of those blowhards from Camelot, pay attention. They'll probably underestimate you, or overestimate themselves, especially if Arthur had a hand in training them. The problem is that they're as good as they say they are, but if you wait for it, they'll always give you an opening. or you can make one.

There! He turned, getting ready for a good shot, and he left his right side open, as in the side that matched perfectly with left-handed Lorelei. She stepped in, moving as quick as she darted. She didn't bring her sword up for a great blow or a long strike or anything like that. No, instead Lorelei's Summer-steel snaked forward. It shot straight to move to Mordred's face, counting on him to pull back and, if she was aiming right, give him a nice little cut on the cheek. Even if she was aiming wrong, his jerking arm would probably mean a cut there, so she should get him... right?

[Aiden Mumble]

Aiden glanced at Tristian when he first spoke, but said nothing, she tore her eyes back to the fight. Astonished that this was happening. Was she still drunk? They were really sword fighting in a field and doing it really well. She supposed if her mom could be a mermaid then people could still sword fight, but still. This was not how she was expecting to spend her day after getting truly messed up the night before. Perhaps she could have enjoyed it more if there wasn't a bunch of hot coals rattling around in her head.

Aiden was forced to look away when Tristian spoke again, introducing himself. She looked at his extended hand then to the coffees she had in each hand. She chose to nod in acknowledgement instead of abandoning the only thing keep her alive at the moment. "Aiden." She said simply, leaving his hand hanging. It would seem Mordred was a lot more popular than she was. She wondered for a moment if they'd slept with each other. That was mostly how people knew Aiden, anyway.

Now the weird one was speaking again, thankfully it wasn't another joke. She let him finish speaking before she responded. She was still watching the fight, she cringed a little every time someone nearly took a hit.

"Don't ask me." she said, in response to both his questions.

[Mordred Le Fey]

Her aim was perfect, and as Mordred pulled back and turned his head her blade caught him clean across the cheek, giving him a deep cut under his eye. He cursed, stepping backwards and bringing his hand up to his cheek, bringing it away red and glistening with his own, warm blood. He cursed again, furious at himself for his cockiness and allowing her to get first blood.

He turned, stretching his neck again as he felt his anger swell once more, and he prepared himself to take Lorelei down.

He spun fast on his heel, hoping to catch her without warning, and put all his effort into swinging hard, aiming his blows wherever he thought they might land, trying to move so fast that she wouldn't be able to block all his blows and he'd land a cut quickly and effectively - he no longer cared where or how badly he hurt her.