An Overlooking Mesa

He did continue, his pace unchanged. A dogged, if leisurely pursuit. As she brought her blade to brush his aside, he lowered it so her scimitar would strike naught but air, as his blade dipped beneath its arc, and his arms extended for a quick jab with the blunted tip at her solarplexus performing his avoidance of her scimitar, and his blades jab in a single motion timed to happen concurrently with her defensive measure. The blade continuing to drop so its tip might end up making contact with the ground if the arc was unchanged as Fenris' shifted his left leg forward in the motion.

She was not too shabby, as his blade extended hers would slide upward against his blade as his arms extended, his own forte would meet the yuz of her sword rather than allowing her to take the leverage advantage as she had hoped. This action also caused his blade to tilt under her own again as he lowered his body just beneath his blade while his arms raised while his crossguard locked with her quillion. His blade meant to act as a brace beneath her own keeping her from getting a good angle at the moment as he grinned. Waiting in the stillness of the moment for something... Essentially maintaining the bind in such a way she could not threaten her with her sword as of yet though it had been some hasty blade-work she was better than most...

A neutralization was what he sought, that much he had achieved. A delay in her attack even if only by the slightest degree. They were already close, locked to their hilts, within arms length, he was low beneath both blades with his own sword over his head acting as a brace. As she adjusted her blade, he did not chase it, instead he simply continued his owns tilt, relying on economy of motion and their close range to step past arms length, though she was perhaps capable of a drawcut she would feel the edge of his own blade against her throat, having adjusted its positioning slightly to bring it towards her neck, settling for the risk of an impasse for now, though her style was somewhat foreign to him, he had not seen how she had gotten inside his guard.

He stepped back as she did, narrowing his gaze and bringing his blade up above his head pointing behind him. What had just happened was quite strange, it was like neither of them were able to follow the other movements. His right leg leading with a fair distance of space separating them so either would have to move into melee range again. He maintained his stance and remained half crouched watching her intently. Perhaps her use of the scimitar was the one blade that he was not at least semi-familiar with. He shifted his right foot forward and closed the gap by a minor degree...

Fenris realized that there was more to combat than simple knowledge, there was judgement and practicality to consider, and the specefics of every situation. A half-hearted attack, no doubt meant to put him on defense, that minor movement of his leading left leg carried into a diagonal step forward as his blade swung across in a horizontal-motion with its back-edge coming in from his far left.

The aim was to force her blade aside off towards his own right, while the vector of his own blade would carry itself towards her neck, as Fenris' step with his left foot and his response caused him to turn towards his right stepping off line as he did so. A "Cross-Wise" cut and one of the 4 "Master-Hews" would see him move towards her far right, divert her attack aside, and place the edge of his blade at her throat in one motion if all went as planned. Fenris stopping short of full contact if successful.

He too was hesitant but would show this differently. He could not afford to become hesitant before this girl, but he could also not afford to underestimate her. She had just escaped a master-cut but he might have misjudged her movements, his eyes narrowed in concentration as he cleared his mind, her pressing of his blade away as she stepped back he stopped following causing contact between their weapons to break, as his sword rose from its posture to its previous position, over his head and pointing behind him. He knew her weapons capabilities and attributes, and what they implied about her methods... He just had to truly understand those implications. With some distance between them now, whoever went on offense next would have a minor gap to close.

Fenris saw her come in, his blade lowered, its weight dragging its tip down towards the ground, the sword beside Fen's right shoulder but held inverted. The result saw the interception of her incoming attack at the lower middle of his blade, while Fenris slid his left leg forward and bent his knees in a brisk and forceful movement.

Essentially to block, Fenris just tilted the sword towards the ground and let it cover his flank, allowing it to intercept her own.

His more decisive leftward movement would cut off her slight leftward lean, however he did not fully buy into her supposed intent, it was not a pure reaction to her footwork, but him seeking to impose some control. Upon the success of his defense, and now probably level with her height, that ridged cylindrical pommel probably inches from her face threatened to make a quick jab under her jaw towards her throat, not a deadly move but one that would leave her gagging if it worked, seeking to catch her at the bare tail-end of her actions before she could adequately transition into any of her other possible intents. He had a feeling she was trying to draw him out, his tactic this time was to give her more than she bargained for. A sword was more than just a blade to a western-fencer.

"Trogdor! Right now would be a good time to come find me. I've got a titan on my hand and my help is very limited. I'm even having to ride a dragon who is rather uncomfortable. I'm not too far south, i'm in Gomrath, trying to kick some evil ass." Zaltos pinged back into Trogdor's mind as soon as he thought of Fenris, what a surprise. (I was surprised when I read this post before I posted.)

When Jill went to Fen's left, she brought her blade in a horizontal swipe that carried itself with her step. Fenris went left, a wide step to the side attempting to over-step the distance she had moved, thus attempting to position Jill not slighty-left, but slightly-right. The length of his blade angled downward along the height of his body, slightly covering his right flank in tandem with his movement, successfully intercepting her swing with a gentle clang.
Fen's next move would have caught most combatants off-guard; utilizing the positioning of his hilt and the leverage of both hands upon it, he'd bring it up and in for a strike to her jaw. Jill, however, was quite familiar with the concept of leverage on a blade. She had managed to force her opponent to bring a certain defensive stance to bear, and it was upon this she'd seek the endgame.
Jill's adaptation to acrobatics lent speed and strength to a sudden ducking motion, as she leaned down and far aside to the right, carrying with the flow of hers and his mirrored steps. The descent brought her right blade downward in height, sliding down the length of his blade as Fenris simultaneously brought the hilt up to strike at the jaw that was before him just a fraction of a second before.
Jill's curved blade forced against the foible of his weapon, the lean of her body and pull of her arm tugging significant force into the scimitar, which would press mercilessly against the lower end of his sword where his leverage was lacking. While Fen's step was wide, the motion of a sword was typically faster, and it'd only serve to have him in motion as the scimitar forced against a feeble defense, its edge slated to slice his right leg near the knee. In the force of her lean and pull, her body twisted slightly clockwise at the hip... she'd driven her blade in full-force, it seemed, synchronous with Fenris' attempted counterattack.

And then, a giant dragon suddenly flew overhead... and she gasped.