Sweet Home, Alabama (Kirian)

[Alagon Drago]

"Anyone ever tell you you talk too much, boy? Oh, that's right. I did."

He charged around the column, and the hook came scything in again - but this time he was aiming for Kirian's swords, to snare him and pull him in, off-balance, on Alagon's terms.

[Kirian Graves]

The hook comes toward him again, flying in a straight trajectory. The target is a bit different, but without the element of surprise, the hook isn't nearly the threat it was last time. Kirian steps to the side slightly, flicking the flat of his left hand sword at the hook, bouncing it to the side.

"Wow, that was clever. Try the same trick again while I'm looking directly at you. That's sure to work. Why not look over my shoulder and yell, 'What is that thing behind you?' Come on... I've seen better attacks from a three-year-old."

Kirian reaches behind himself, drawing his last IED. Without another word, he wings the device low, so that it will hit behind Alagon. Hopefully he'll realize where the device is headed and will come closer instead of trying to dance away.

[Alagon Drago]

The chain came back, and Alagon coiled it around his arm again, leaving a short length at the end swinging free with the hook. Just for a moment, he noticed a potential peril in a storage rack suspended from a crane some meters past Kirian. And then Kirian threw his IED.

Once again, the miniature bomb lit up his senses like a firework. But the illusionist had underestimated his old master's reflexes.

Drago darted in while Kirian's right hand was still engaged in the throw, while its grip on his sword was still loose and vulnerable, and struck the flat of the blade fiercely with his chained arm. If it did not jar the sword completely free of Kirian's grasp, it would knock the blade away and twist his fingers painfully. At the next instant, he slipped his ninjato inside Kirian's other blade and jabbed at the younger man's left shoulder.

[Kirian Graves]

The blow to his sword was jarring, indeed. He could have rolled with the shot, but to do so would have left him off balance and vulnerable to a counter attack. Instead, he let the sword fall and kept his balance in the trade off.

As soon as he sees the ninjato slicing in, he realizes he has chosen correctly. With no time to raise his katana, he flings his body backward, slamming himself backward to the ground. He is a little too close to the column, and his shoulder jams painfully into the steel. That arm will be slow for a while, and he'll have a bruise to remember it by for a couple of weeks to come. Still, it's better than getting punctured.

As his body weight drops, he punches his left foot out, directly into Alagon's ankle. At this range, even the old man shouldn't be able to get completely out of the way. He raises his katana protectively, in case he attempts another jab.

[Alagon Drago]

He sensed the danger to his ankle in time to roll his weight to his other foot and save his ligaments. The stiffened walls of his boot absorbed some of the impact, but it still shot lances of pain up his right leg, and he could feel his ankle throb and stiffen. That would hamper his mobility if he wasn't careful.

But he'd robbed Kirian of half his armament, and he was sure he could take the whelp in a show of swordplay. He advanced, determined to press his advantage now that his opponent was on the floor with his back to a steel girder. Instead of jabbing at Kirian's upper body again, he raised his sword, point downward, and, crouching, plunged it toward Kirian's outstretched leg. His held his chained arm ready to block an attack from Kirian's remaining sword.

[Kirian Graves]

Drago may be able to detect danger as it approaches, but, as far as Kirian is aware, he cannot determine the exact nature of a threat. Time to play on that weakness.

As soon as Kirian sees Alagon start to raise his sword, he quickly blinds him with an opaque black band across his eyes. Then, he launches a two-fold attack. He shifts his body onto his side, launching a kick at Alagon's midsection with his previously outstretched leg. At the same time, he swings his sword in a horizontal arc toward Alagon's knee. The kick won't do too much damage if it connects. Kirian hopes he attempts to block it instead of the sword.