#[ i would apologize but it's khoa so... :pensive: ]

[patroklides]

❛ don’t bark if you can’t bite. ❜ [ khoa to lex ]

"from the villain" starters. // accepting.

his opponent is attempting to goad him into making a mistake, he suspects. it's a decent strategy – or at least, it would be, against someone less wise to the tactic. he's trying to bait him into an act of aggression, something that will leave him open to attack; it's a commendable effort, but there's only one fencing partner who could ever truly get under his skin, and all that's left of him is a faint stain on the concrete in front of the lexcorp plaza.

[ too emotional, his father had said of him back then; he doubts anyone would think him such now. ]

" i've hardly done either thus far, kasper. " he hits the name with a little too much emphasis, gaze sharp as he narrowly parries the first blow.

he's rusty, by any estimation, but his feet seem to remember the steps as well as any dance, the clash of metal-on-metal rhythmic and familiar. his opponent's strikes are single-minded and aggressive, like it hasn't even occurred to him that he might lose. but there's an arrogance in his movements, also; he adds an unnecessary flourish with the blade just before each thrust, all style over substance.

whether it's meant as an intimidation tactic or simply a sign of how little regard the other man has for him as an opponent, he can hardly say, but he intends to make him regret it.

he parries a second time, a third, and the opening the other man leaves right after he strikes doesn't escape his notice.

" you know, if you're going to use a fake name— " another parry, knocking the blade to one side, before he lunges in. " —you ought to at least choose something less obvious. "

the tip of the foil presses lightly against the other man's sternum, and he gives him a thin smirk. " i believe that means the first point is mine, ghost-maker. "