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how would you feel about fighting on friendlier terms?

[ .. huh. ]

You mean sparring?

I mean, I would not be opposed, I just did not imagine you would want to do such a thing with me of all people.

is there something wrong with you of all people?

Isn't that what I should be asking you?

It kind of feels like you'd think I'm too weak to even bother fighting.

[ He doesn't even really mean it in a bad sort of way, though it might be hard to tell, given the lack of tone across this text exchange. It's just that Inigo feels like that's likely what Cat thinks about him, given all of their past encounters.. It's just an objective observation of the stuff Cat usually says! ]

[Haha, yeah.]

thats quite the imagination youve got there friend!
is that what you think of me?

[He brings the gaslight, his sister brings the girlboss, and together they gatekeep.]

anyway
even if that were true, i dont need a *strong* fighter, i need a skilled one
you definitely know how to keep yourself alive

plus with the way my eyes are going, i need to learn how to deal with dodgy folk like you without my sister helping me out
which reminds me! can you see out of that eye of yours?

[ There's a slight pause before the reply arrives - mostly because Inigo is kind of surprised. No one ever really mentions his eyes here. He figured it was since no one knew about the Brand, and people look off in all sorts of ways here. Enough so that no one would think twice about Inigo having one odd eye that you don't even really notice unless you get up close with him.

It makes being confronted with it suddenly surprising, until he remembers what had happened before, with that half of Cat. He came so close to his eye, didn't he?

... ]

Yes, I can. It functions as any normal eye, for all intents and purposes.

[ Not that he's exactly jumping in excitement to explain why his eye is like that - which is why he seems to keep his answer at that, rather than fully explaining. ]

If you really want to train with me though, then I don't mind. We can do that. I wouldn't want you to get hurt here. [ He stands by that.

Even after.. you know, varied.. previous encounters.. Inigo isn't going to give up his desire to believe in the good in Cat just because he had an awkward experience with some weird half of the other. ]

[Hm. That's a shame. Someone that can fight blind -- even just by half -- would have been good experience, since he's not going to get the treatment he needs anytime soon.]

functions that way? is it a machine?

haha a bit late for that
turns out that getting jabbed by myself was the least of my problems
those april wolves were no joke! especially the one i tussled with

[ Wait.

Hold on. ]

You got yourself hurt???

Again????

[ He's not even dodging the question about his eye, it's just that the idea of this has him so instantly concerned that he's breezing right past anything else. He has to know this first! Cat, you can't just randomly mention that to him with a 'haha', that's not how Inigo works! ]

thats not a nice way to put it
its not like i set out to get injured
i dont even like fighting

I'm just worried!!!

[ Maybe it's a little overly honest and straightforward, but.. well, that's Inigo for you. "A little overly honest and straightforward" might as well be his middle name, especially whenever the attitude he tries to put on slips and this is instead revealed behind it. ]

Besides, you never gave off the impression you didn't like fighting. I know it wasn't exactly you back there that one time, but.. you sure did seem eager to fight there.

"survive even if it means fighting dirty" remember?
survival is always the goal
that half just got a bit paranoid
and irritated haha

[Not getting worn out as quickly had helped incline him towards violence, too. Cat misses that part.]

youre an unbelievable guy you know?
not that its a bad thing

[ ... ]

Wait, how is this suddenly about me?

And what's so unbelievable about me in the first place? I'm pretty sure each and every single thing I have ever told you since we first met was very normal!

[ That one might have to get fact checked, despite Inigo's confidence in just writing it and sending it out there. ]

haha
you are far from normal

never mind all that
i dont like agreeing with that half so much like this
it isnt why i messaged you today

Okay, okay. We can spar. Even though you called me unbelievable. That's just how nice of a guy I am.

[ Make sure to remember that, Cat!!! ]

If you want to try it out right now, just send me a place where you would like to practice. I'll head right over. [ Yes, he is willing to clear his schedule for the other! Despite everything. Maybe Inigo really is just that nice of a guy.. ]

didnt i say it wasnt a bad thing when it came to you?

[You make sure to remember it, Inigo!!!

Anyway, because Inigo is 1. so eager to see him apparently, and 2. an unbelievable, nice guy, the location that Cat gives him directions to is actually...his house! Wow!! Almost no one gets his address. It's a little place, just a snug house in the hill with a black, circular door and a short teen in a cat mask sitting on top of it, longspear made of his city's debris laid in the roof's grass next to him. He's dressed simpler, now, not wanting to fuss with his gear even if it makes him feel exposed. The weather is getting nicer, anyway.]

[ Since Inigo is such an unbelievable nice guy, it doesn't even take too long for him to show up, like he doesn't want to make the other wait, no much hemming and hawing and huffing Inigo may do about some of the stuff Cat says to him. Occasionally.

In fact, he probably arrives a little earlier than most people would after having to make their way over towards Cat's house - like maybe he ran part of the way as part of his desire to not let the other wait. There's even a faint hitch to Inigo's breath that betrays he definitely ran part of the way. Don't tell anyone though.

He obviously brought his sword, but it's still hanging in its sheath off his belt. ]

Hey. [ Despite it maybe not being the most exuberant greeting ever, Inigo does give the other a slight smile as he says it, standing in front of the house and looking up at Cat. ] .. you've got a nice place. It looks cozy, I mean.

[He'd sat up a little straighter at the approach -- he doesn't live in too bustling an are, but there was still a fair amount of foot traffic, so that had been a common occurrence while he waited. When Inigo speaks rather than continues on his way, Cat grins to himself, face hidden behind the mask as usual, and pushes himself to his feet with his spear's help.]

Heh. Cozier on the outside than in. Not much of a homemaker.

[It wasn't like it was going to feel like a real home unless his sister was there, too. Still, it wasn't actually terrible, mostly thanks to a couple of plants he'd been gifted by friends, whether they'd been called true or not. Tiny touches for a tiny house.

Bizarrely, as Cat trundles down the slope that goes into his roof to meet Inigo properly, he's doing a little breath-catching of his own.]

That didn't take you too long. Do you live nearby, then? Or were you out and about already?

Oh.. [ ... ] You know.

[ That suspicious pause definitely makes it look like there's something Inigo isn't saying here, even though he tries to casually shrug like there's nothing suspicious about this. Whatsoever. Nuh-uh, nothing at all!

In fact, he technically hasn't given an answer at all by the time he's already saying: ]

Are you alright? You kind of seem out of breath.

[ Only a little bit. In fact, Inigo probably seems worse out of breath right here.

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. But Inigo knows he had to run over here - what's Cat's excuse? ]

[Uh huh. Mmkay. Inigo's lucky that Cat's not too invested on getting his address out of him or making someone else's health his business. He's got enough of that on his own plate. With his free hand he waves the worry off, following the gesture up with,]

It's just from lazing about for weeks. I'm all healed up.

[Or it's the touch of pneumonia getting ready to drag him down, but that's a realization for another day. For now, he ducks to the side, spear planted, a curious cat leaning to get a better view. He sounds teasing rather than concerned.]

Need a moment? Some water?

Oh, very funny.

[ There's a bit of a sarcastic quality of that, half an eye roll added, but it doesn't seem to be anything too intense. After all, even Inigo shows it when he gets upset enough, and this clearly isn't that.

It's just him meeting Cat's teasing and joking at a similar level. Or as similar as he can get, anyway. ]

For your information, I was born ready for this. [ Despite running over, and being more exhausted than the usual because of that - but after Cat's joke, he's fully ready to just jump into it now, exhaustion be damned.

He pulls his sword out of its sheath, throwing said sheath off to the side carelessly. ]

If you need a pause or a moment of preparation, I completely understand. [ Now who's doing the teasing, Inigo... ] But, otherwise-- Have at me!

[It's difficult to tell, but seeing and hearing Inigo play along gets Cat to perk up a little. There's even a soft heh! for the effort before Cat is backing up into his own stance. It'll be familiar to Inigo, after that little spat he had with Cat's lesser half, but at the same time more cautious.

He's more aware of his weaknesses, which are even greater in number than when he'd last fought, despite it not being that long ago. The only thing he's really got going in his favor now is that the heavier weight of his weapon is familiar. It might be draining, especially on his aching, lethargic body, but he'll be able to hold his balance better and follow through on strikes.

...It is so much easier to fight in shallow water, where he can hear the footsteps, than on a cobblestone path cushioned by grass and dirt. Good thing he's already known for being chatty, even if talking while he swings and jabs with his spear is going to take more out of him than he'd like. Inigo would be easier to get talking than a puppet.]

Can you be more than defensive, I wonder?

[ It is easy to make Inigo talk.

And it's also easy to make Inigo move. Judging by the sheer sound of his footsteps on the ground, it's not that difficult at all to see what Inigo's style of fighting is. It's all very quick, like the boy is incredibly light on his feet, moving like a dancer as he swing his sword. ]

Okay, but you know why I was holding back on that last time!

[ And indeed, it seems to have been holding back - because Inigo isn't doing so now. There's actually a lot more aggressive strikes now, rather than him only blocking the way he was doing when he dealt with that odd half of Cat. Despite his fondness for the other, he doesn't seem to be holding back in this regular spar. ]

I was worried about hurting you in the middle of that strange situation!

Edited 2024-09-08 17:56 (UTC)

[He remembers the dancing steps, and tries to keep them in mind while tracking the voice. It both does and doesn't help -- he's able to picture Inigo stepping and predict the distance he'd swing from, lifting his spear to meet the slashes with the arm of it, but...he's able to picture so, so clearly the arcing swings of a curved blade brought down with ferocity or as a followthrough on a twirl. It's more distracting than not to realize that the only light tinkling sound of bells is coming from him. There's no partner with a matching set with sure, practiced movements ensuring he knows she's near, she's still moving, and he won't be hurting her on accident.

He'll have plenty of time to get entrenched in these thoughts later, as the fever sets in. For now, Cat grits his teeth to try and bite them back and replace them with frustration over how his movements shouldn't be as sluggish as they are, even if he's out of practice with a weapon that's a comfortable weight for him, but goes beyond what one would expect of someone so small, or of a spear at all. His laugh is almost more of a cough, though that comes from his feelings rather than his poor lungs, for once. Probably not too much more of it being that way.]

Oho? You're not worried about hurting me now? Inigo! Aren't we friends?

[It would be easy to not believe it, used as a taunt the way it is. Cat doesn't fully believe it himself yet, though he genuinely appreciates Inigo more than he would expect.

He knocks the sword aside by catching it on the patchy, broken sign coming off the pole that once directed people to Toy Land, quickly jerking to correct his aim and lunge forward with the sharpened spikes of some wrought iron something meant to keep people out that now live at the spear's head.]

Edited (rip, before firefly days...) 2024-10-04 04:31 (UTC)

[ It would be hard to not see the sluggishness in the other's movement. Even more so for someone with a trained fighter's eye. If it was anyone but Cat, Inigo may have questioned why they would want to spar in a condition like this in the first place. But since it's Cat-- He already knows, right? The other is so prideful, so guarded. He'd likely want to keep training and be prepared for combat no matter what else was going on.

It's the sort of thing that would want to make him say that Cat doesn't have to worry, that Inigo would protect him if he'd ever need it, but that's exactly the sort of thing that pride wouldn't accept either, right?

So this makes the most sense. Being here right now, doing this with him. Inigo trusts his own fighting skills enough to know how to not really hold back, yet ensure that he isn't making a move that would seriously injure Cat if it went wrong. ]

I'm not worried. [ --is the answer as he dodges that weapon. He watches it, trying to memorize its swing, its speed. It isn't quite like anything Inigo has said anyone use back where he comes from, so it takes a little bit of getting used to. ] Because I know that today it's not like we are fighting to death.

[ Would that Cat back there have?

Inigo thinks so. But mostly because he did not see that as Cat. Not as the person standing in front of him right now, as Inigo twirls on his feet to move in for another strike of his sword. ]

Or would you like to?

[ There's something almost teasing in his voice. Like he's daring Cat to say he would want to, even though Inigo knows - trusts - that there's no way the other would actually want to kill him.

After all-- ]

You wouldn't do that to a friend, right?

[Cat hops back, holding his weight on one foot to make it easier to pivot, and follows through the motion with a twirl of his spear to get his next swing more momentum, already grinning before Inigo asks his second question.

Once he does, though, Cat has to laugh, thinking of a puppet handing him a golden coin without a hint of an expression on his face even as Cat chattered away about how, given time, they could become actual friends. Of saying, "I'll let you go," and meaning it, even though it went against the job he was given, and even though he had to beg without a hint of over-the-top coyness he usually got to cushion his feelings in. He'd known long before the words came out what would happen if his plea -- and bid for friendship -- wasn't enough.

He thinks of a wolf crunching down on a lighter spear, shaft made of wood but tip a sharp, deadly metal, as easily as one might a pretzel, and how it could have been his arm. His rib aches -- just barely, now -- where the paw pad hadn't done anything to soften the hard kick against him that caused all this extra trouble, and where cautious hands had later examined him to confirm what they already knew about how much he'd been broken, and by what. Cat knows he'd barely gotten away from the first one here he'd named a friend and meant it.

Unfortunately, he doesn't get a chance to answer outside of that laugh, because it's just enough to push him the rest of the way into a coughing fit that has him doubling over. His spear is planted clumsily into the ground so he can both support himself and hide behind the shaft as his guard if Inigo isn't able to pull out of a swing, or if he's like Cat, and would absolutely do that to a friend, whether he wanted to or not.

Damn it. He was enjoying this, the not having to.]

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