thecapitol | We are all strangers in a strange land [Open]

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We are all strangers in a strange land [Open]

WHO| Nasir and others
WHAT| Nasir decides the best way to cope with being brought to Panem is to ~~try and hit people a lot~~ spar.
WHEN| The same day as Nasir's arrival, lasting for most of the day.
WHERE| Training Center
WARNINGS| Violence, probably some cursing

Nasir knew he should get his bearings and explore the new city he found himself in but it was overwhelming. There was simply too much to process. Everything was unfamiliar from the clothes to the people to his own room. While it was more comfortable than the tent he’d lived in for months, he missed the tent all the same. As he missed many things, not the least of which his friends and lover. Even if he returned he didn’t know if he would find them: if Laeta and Sibyl had convinced Agron to move on beyond the grasp of Rome without Nasir or if he stubbornly remained waiting for him, at risk of his life.

Nasir's anger at being torn away-- enslaved again-- brought him to the training center. The journey there had been interesting to say the least and he did not care for that elevator room. But as soon as his hand grasped a spear he felt more at ease. Now if only he had something other than a target, someone who could give him a proper challenge.

Looking around, he spotted a figure and quickly approached them.

“I would spar with you, if you are of desire.” Nasir himself did not appear to be impressive. Short and lithe, he went shirtless and wore a necklace of what, on closer inspection, were three phalluses. But he had a determination in his eyes and he handled his spear with surety.

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Ah, of course. Nasir had encountered similar confusion amongst Agron and the other Germans once he started wearing the necklace. Agron in particular had found it amusing though this man seemed to have another reaction entirely. He appeared to be more flustered than anything, a response Nasir was unused to.

"It protects from evil." As he spoke, Nasir reached to touch his necklace, which gave off a most unfortunate image. He laid it down flat against his chest and lowered his hand. "The phallus is a powerful symbol for Romans and though I am not one I have spent too long among them."

"I see." And he does, sort of. He's no stranger to classical history, though his knowledge is most firmly founded on eighteenth century composers rather than symbolic practices of the classical antiquities, but he remembers visiting Pompeii and seeing many of the phallic artifacts uncovered there, so putting this man's necklace in a historical context actually removes his discomfort despite the man running his fingers over the longest phallus.

"I apologize for my reaction, then. The time I'm from has much different sensibilities than yours." More uptight, at least.

"Seeing a cock is cause for surprise when you are from? I fear you would find yourself unprepared if you saw my companions." Well, his former companions. There was a decided lack of those parts among his current...

Only they weren't so current now, were they?

"I am called Nasir." He did not hold out his hand but his body language was more relaxed, if only by a fraction.

"More seeing adornments in their image, though it's not exactly the custom to go around naked either." Despite Capitol fashion. He supposes if he'd been born in Roman times he would have a much different view, though from where he was born he would have been a Saxon and likely had little to do with the Romans.

"I'm Albert." He gives a small grin, the humorous thought striking him that he'd gotten bent out of shape over a necklace when he's engaged to another man. "It's nice to meet you, Nasir."

Nasir was quickly filing away more information about the time after his and he could only conclude that it was even stranger than he expected. These people were far too restrained than was good for them.

"And you." Nasir passed his spear to his left hand so he could extend his right to Albert.

"You said you are inexperienced. Have you been here long or do you not favor weapons?"

The German takes the offered hand for a firm shake then drops his hand to his side, glancing at the spear in his other hand. "I haven't been here long at all, but I've fought quite a lot before now. It's just that when I come from the weapons are much more advanced. I'm more versed in the use of arms that can shoot very rapidly from a long distance with the pull of a switch. We call them guns.

Once you have something like that, the use of a spear or a sword becomes somewhat obsolete."

Nasir's hand was slack in Albert's grip. He was used to grasping the forearm, not the hand itself and not shaking it either. Yet another cultural difference. He withdrew his hand and tossed his spear back into it.

"It sounds like a bow yet you say it has a switch? Are they here?"

Something that would overpower a sword or spear was something he wished to familiarize himself with as quickly as possible, even if it was a hard concept to grasp.

"Not generally. It seems that they're something special the sponsors can bestow upon their tributes if they choose. They are something like a bow, more like a crossbow, but the ammunition is much smaller and it can hold more at once." He shifts his weight uncomfortably. Nothing like explaining what a gun is to realize how apt humanity is at developing better ways to kill each other.

"There's little defense against them. Some metal a bullet couldn't punch through, but it would have to be thick. Something like a wooden shield though..." Albert shakes his head.

Nasir appreciated that other languages were translated but it was frustrating to find words he had no concept for. But it was no use asking about if he could not see it for himself and, if what he heard was true, then there was no defense against it unless he was gifted with a well made shield. Arrows were bad enough, he wondered how powerful a gun must be.

"You take for granted what I know nothing of. I hope I will not face it in the arena. If guns are as deadly as you say then they deprive us to make for better entertainment?" He had seen bows here so he knew they were allowed at least, much to his displeasure. He had never learned how to use one.

He'd made an effort to put things in historical context but it's difficult when he's no historian. "That's exactly the reason why it's unlikely they'll be seen until an arena nears its end and spectators are thirsty for bloodshed."

Albert frowns deeply, his hand tightening around his spear. "Still, it's something you should be aware of."

That was not as comforting. Nasir was hopeful that he would win the arena but if weapons he wasn't acquainted with became a regular occurrence, especially at the end when it was down to the best, his chances diminished significantly.

"Gratitude for your explanation." He gestured with his own spear to Albert's. "I would return favor by teaching you, since you are unfamiliar with spear."

They're all hopeful they would win, some way or another, but the smart ones are aware they may not and prepare for the worst as well. It's easier to think of training instead.

"I was taught a little by one of my district's mentors but I don't have the benefit of his years of experience. I would be very grateful for any help you could show me."

Nasir smiled at that. "You do not need years of experience. I learned quickly, so shall you if you put mind to task."

He distanced himself from Albert, giving them both enough space to start out. They would close in on each other as this progressed, or at least Nasir would if the other man found himself lacking. "Show me what you do know. Attack me."

He readied his spear.

It takes Albert a moment to set himself up, marking him - as he'd already stated - as an amateur, but the form he adopts is one of strength. He sizes Nasir up for a moment, making sure the other man is ready, and then thrusts with the strength he's always had and the precision taught to him by Maximus.

Only he aims to Nasir's side and not at him directly. This isn't the arena, and even there he's reluctant to draw blood. In training he downright refuses. What's the point?

Nasir easily sidestepped and batted the spear away with his own. A disappointing start but either Albert was hesitant to fight or he lacked confidence. That could be fixed and it would be if Nasir had any say in it.

"That was no attack. Again! Do not hold back." Nasir's voice was harsher as he had stepped back into the role of trainer and tester.

More than that, he wanted a fight.

"This isn't the arena. I don't wish hurt you." He seems completely unaware of how insulting that could sound, the base implication being that he could hurt Nasir, someone who has far more experience with the weapons in question. Confidence is definitely not the problem.

Nasir was used to far worse. At least this was only an implication and meant well. That didn't mean he appreciated it.

"I stand in no danger so long as you hold yourself so. You set foot too firmly on ground." Nasir pointed to the floor briefly before raising his spear again. "This is not the arena and you will not kill me today. Again."

Letting a centering breath, Albert squares his shoulders again and pivots, thrusting at Nasir without warning and remembering to shift his weight forward this time as he was shown. The result is a much more decisive strike with his grip set so he can sweep left or right if necessary.

Nasir blocked the thrust and pushed the spear hard to the side, testing how strong Albert's grip was. Then he spun his weapon on its side so it struck the bottom of Albert's spear. He hoped for the man's sake, that the combination attack would not make it fly out of the other man's hands. Though Nasir was accustomed to witnessing such embarrassment.

For all his faults with the spear, a weak grip is not one of them. If anything he's holding the thing too tightly and the strong hits send vibrations crawling not just through the weapon but up his arms as well, clattering his teeth. Still, he holds on and attempts to retaliate, swinging the pole around to slice with the bladed end, though he's much too slow for it to be viewed as terribly threatening.

Again Nasir blocked, this time stepping back as well to put more distance between them and better allow his next move. He flipped his spear back, with the blunt end facing Albert, and, after a fraction of a second's worth of consideration, thrust it forward at his midsection and not up to knock back his chin as originally planned.

Instead of using his spear to block and knock aside the thrust, Albert takes one hand off of his own weapon and pushes the end of the spear aside with his palm, allowing himself the room and momentum to spin towards and to the side of Nasir, bringing his elbow up to stop a fraction of an inch behind the other man's nape if he hasn't moved.

He could easily lose his own weapon this way, but if Nasir allows him this close he could also knock him out had he followed through with the strike. Albert may be close to useless with a spear, but hand to hand combat he's been engaged in for over half a century. Granted, that's with his cybernetics intact. Where he'd not have felt his palm batting at the metal spear shaft before, now it's not metal itself and therefore stings like the dickens.

Nasir had moved quickly. He hadn't been expecting Albert to get his hands on the spear but as Albert spun, so did Nasir in an opposite direction, away from his opponent. He jerked his weapon again to strike Albert's pole and then follow it up with a swipe across his neck, still using the shaft instead of bladed end. He had no desire to decapitate his sparring partner.

While Albert's a little slower on his feet, he does track Nasir well and the pole of his own spear comes up to block the swipe at his neck, the German rocking on his feet at the impact. He should have dodged, ducked under the blow and utilizing the opening it gave however slight, but he hadn't had the time awkward as his stance is.

Still, he knows his advantage against Nasir is his weight and he decides to use it, pushing the locked poles towards the other man in an effort to knock him off balance and aim a blunt strike just under the ribs with the butt of his spear.

Of course he's not used to such a long weapon either and in trying to flip the blunt end up he overcompensates and snags his own leg on the head, not doing much more than leaving a shallow scrape but it's embarrassing and amateurish all the same.

Nasir was accustomed to fighting a heavier opponent and he adjusted his own weight accordingly. Just as he was ready to step aside so Albert would fall forward from the momentum, the spear moved out of the way and came toward him. But as soon as he saw that it had caught on the other man's foot, Nasir surged forward.

He slammed his spear against Albert's then moved to thrust his own directly under the man's chin, ready to stop it before it pierced flesh.

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