#Luckily Cherche Mahariel has rope

[ramblinganthropologist]

Writober 2023 - 30 Rush

Summary: Sten finds Miris and Cahel wanting when it comes to fighting. Unfortunately for him, he's about to bear witness to the creation of a new double attack.

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With another day over, the Grey Wardens could celebrate surviving another trip around the sun. With what they were dealing with, they didn't have much to cheer over.

Camp was set, dinner was on the fire, and those that didn't have tasks to do were deep into their own things. Cahel was one of them, sitting in front of the fire as he worked on fixing an arrow. Next to him, Miris was cleaning his maul, both deep into their tasks. It was the sort of quiet thing they did when they were waiting for dinner.

At least it was until a large shadow loomed over them.

"Wardens." Sten's deep voice rumbled through the clearings. "Meet me at the edge of the clearing with your weapons. Leave your dogs by the fire."

That was all he said - he took off after that to the far edge of the clearing. There was no clarification, no reason why: just get your shit and come. Because of this, Miris and Cahel exchanged confused looks across the fire. However, there was no real reason to refuse him, so they shrugged it off.

With weapons in hand, they made their way to the part of the clearing where Sten was waiting for them. He had his weapon too, which glinted in the setting sun. He watched them both with a blank expression - it was the only one he ever wore. For all they knew, it was the only one he had.

Maybe Qunari just had one to spare...

"Any reason why you wanted us over here, Sten?" Cahel cocked his head to the side much like his dog as he glanced around. "You were kind of short on the details."

Sten shifted his posture - it was the kind he took when he fight. "Raise your weapons and prepare yourself, Warden. I have seen your fights and find them wanting."

There wasn't anything more from him - the Qunari rushed forward, sword in hand. He went for Cahel first, swinging his sword in a practiced arc. His target jumped back, flipping to avoid the blade that hit the ground instead of him. He didn't get much of a break, however - another swing had him on the defensive, which he blocked with both of his blades. His heels dug into the earth as he fought to stay in place.

The problem was, Sten was a lot bigger than him.

"You are lacking in body strength, Warden. Were I a darkspawn, I would have sliced you in half." Another shove, and Cahel was sent sliding back, almost dropping his swords. "Your defense needs work."

He would've swung again, but another large weapon cut him off. Miris had jumped in, mace at the ready as he blocked the blow. Unlike Cahel, he didn't slide back. Maybe it was because he was wearing shoes, or the fact he had a bit more muscle. Whatever it was, he stayed rooted in place as he kept Sten from advancing.

"Strength is not your problem, Warden." Sten broke the contact, rushing forward with a quick slice. Miris managed to dodge, but he was suddenly on the defensive as the Qunari swung at him. "You lack battle training. Street brawls are different than fighting a trained army. Your lack of discipline will be your downfall."

Miris grit his teeth as he did his best to block, but it was hard. Sten wasn't just strong, he was also fast for a two-hander. It was all he could do to keep from getting hit by the large sword. Sweat trickled down his forehead, but he wasn't about to take the insult laying down.

Though, he was pretty close to being knocked on his ass...

However, before Sten could take the victory, he had to break contact with the Warden in front of him. Cahel had recovered from being knocked back, and he was coming forward at full speed. Even though Sten was fast, he was a two-handed warrior against a rogue with two blades. It set him back a bit, enough to let Miris recover.

"Thanks, squirt."

"Not a problem."

The two wardens faced their combined opponent, gripping their weapons. Sten was quick to recover, and soon he was back in attacking form. This made the pair exchange glances, then nod as the broke into two different directions. Miris headed straight for Sten, swinging out hard with his mace.

"Your attacks have no subtlety." Sten blocked the swing without much difficulty. "Even the dullest darkspawn will see it-"

Then he had to break the attack in order to block the small elf coming at him with two blades. Cahel swooped in from the opposite side, letting out a flurry of attacks. Sten was forced to go on the defensive, blocking swift blow after swift blow with the patience of a master. His face never changed, however - he looked bored.

"Speed means nothing if there is no strength behind it." He blocked them all, not even falling back a step. "It's only good for a distraction."

Maybe that was why he easily broke contact to block Miris' blow. The two Wardens were sent back with a swing of his sword, sweating and gritting their teeth. Clearly, their idea to attack him at the same time had failed - he wasn't even breaking a sweat. Worst of all, he wasn't even breathing hard.

This was child's play to him.

"If this is the best the Wardens have to offer, I fear for Ferelden." Sten shifted his position, readying for another flurry of blows from his massive sword. Cahel and Miris exchanged another glance, before their expressions shifted. Instead of grimacing, both broke out in nearly identical grins.

They nodded at each other, and then Miris rushed forward.

"Another forward attack?" Sten almost sounded disappointed as he raised his sword to block the oncoming blow. "This is getting-"

He didn't get to finish, mostly because of what happened next. Mid swing, Miris stepped to the side. Behind him, Cahel rolled to avoid the swing of his mace. It brought him into Sten's zone, to which he brought with a flurry of blows. This time, well under the swing of the Qunari's sword, he made contact with his leather bracers. Then he rolled out of the way, allowing Miris to finish his swing at full force, catching his opponent on the sword and forcing him back a step.

It was just a step... but it was the first hit in the match.

It took Sten a moment to realize he had been hit. Thanks to his armor, he wasn't hurt, but there were marks on his bracers to prove Cahel had gotten a swipe in. His boots had created deep furrows in the ground as he was sent back as well, showing that Miris' attack had been just as effective.

"That was foolish. You cannot always-"

But Sten's words were drowned out by the triumphant cheers of the pair across from him. Miris and Cahel ran up to each other, exchanging high fives that reverberated throughout the clearing. Both wore huge grins on their faces as they began to chuckle, clearly pleased with what they had accomplished.

"That was sick!" Cahel was hopping up and down, beaming. "If we get the timing right, I might be able to get out even faster!"

Miris wore a rare grin as well as he laughed and pumped his fist. "We knocked his ass back! What does he weigh, like 250?"

"At least! Your swing was savage!"

"That roll was killer, he didn't see you coming!"

The two were all grins as they turned back to Sten, who was blank faced as always. The only thing that betrayed he might have been confused was that his eyebrow quirked ever so slightly toward his hairline. For a Qunari, that was the equivalent of his jaw dropping at the display.

"It is hardly efficient to risk getting your head knocked off, Warden."

Cahel grinned as he patted Miris on the shoulder. "Then let us practice it some more. If it knocked you back, then we might have some luck using it on the darkspawn."

"We can get our timing and placement down and see what works." Miris held up his mace for another round. "Well? You in or what, Sten?"

The Qunari shifted his blade, shaking his head. "If you insist on foolish acrobatics, it is best to perfect it. Ready the attack again."

The two cheered, and then they got back into position. Soon, they were attempting the same move, varying the timing to see what was best to prevent injury and get the best attack pattern. Sweat dripped don their faces, but they both grinned as they continued to work on it.

So much for serious training.

---

Later that night, Cherche watched as Sten made his way to his tent covered in dust and scratches from his Warden training. He didn't say a word as he put his sword to the side and all but laid flat on his stomach to avoid the world. All she could do was chuckle as she approached.

"Have fun with the kids?"

Sten lifted his head up briefly, just enough to comment. "They are the most reckless fighters I have ever had the misfortune to train with. Were they Qunari, this foolishness would not be tolerated."

Cherche could only give him a wry grin as she settled into his side. "At least they worked out a new move from it. It looked pretty effective from what I saw."

"Their timing is near perfect. It may just work against the darkspawn if they can keep from killing the boy Warden."

Based on his tone of voice, he didn't exactly sound too sure about that. But at his heart, Sten was a traditionalist when it came to fighting. If the Qun hadn't tried it, it wasn't something he would have considered. Cherche had long since learned that, and for the most part accepted it.

"He's got a pretty hard head, believe me." She laid her bow aside for the moment. "But it sounds like you've got some knots you need to work out. I can help."

Her tone had authority to it, letting them both know how their evening was going to go. Later, in the morning, they could discuss the new move between the younger Wardens. No doubt they would get plenty of use for it when they came up against the Darkspawn.

But Cherche would worry about that later. She had some ropes to untangle. The boys could perfect their battle moves somewhere else.