Only the Strong (Mia)

[Garrus Garon]

Mandalore

...there were places on Mandalore someone could go to escape, to test themselves, to train and to be trained when there was time to rest but no time to grown lazy. This was such a place and Garrus came here often enough. It was, in a way, unique when it came to garrisons where one would train themselves against their peers.

The Building was an enormous octagon, inside and out, with a huge domed roof stretching nearly a hundred feet above the single ground level. All along the roof were vents that would release steam and hot air. Architecturally the bulding had been made, mostly, of stone which meant it was likely old, archaic even. It had been built over a natural geyser in one of the jungle regions of the planet so that the heat radiated up throughout the bulding creating a sauna like atmosphere on the inside. Inside there were several rooms that were all built around a large main chamber which followed the same octagon scheme as the rest of the building. Benches lined the chamber which was also quite damp, the natural heat radiating up from the floor and bottling in the chamber until it was vented creating condensation and moisture in the mean time, and hot, it was very much like a sauna in here. Light shined down from above, let in by small openings in the domed ceiling, illuminating the chamber in an odd, almost glowing, way that wove its way throughout leaving only the corners and walls shaded. All in all this was a spectacular place.

Imagine then that people would come to such a place to train and test their bodies.

During his down time Garrus Garon was often bored, driven to the bottle, and otherwise longing for the next time he'd see a battle. He had access to his Brother's, Strider Garon, contacts though this is how he'd made an interesting discovery. Garrus knew the names of many Mandalore but he had met few of the most recent ones which is why when he saw the name -Mia Monroe- an idea circulated through his mind and he'd sent a message to the former Mandalore which read only...

[Mia Monroe...

A Manda'lor is the pinnacle of what every Mandalorian seeks to be yet to beat the Mandal'lor is to become it. You are no longer Manda'lor but I would test myself against you if your body is still true and your heart still strong. I am Garrus Garon.]

...thus ended the transmission along with a set of coordinates for Mia to follow if she accepted. They'd lead her to the building that was described.

Inside Garrus was already standing in the central chamber, his head tipping backwards as he looked up towards the ceiling where light filtered inside while droplets of water fell down over his brow, the heat of the room had caused beads of sweat to form over his brown before he'd even exerted himself. He was dressed only in tight shorts that hugged his thighs and cloth that he'd wrapped around both of his hands. His Beskad was sheathed and leaning against one of the benches in the outskirts of the chamber. The heat made wearing an abundance of clothing difficult in the chamber, it could be felt under Garrus feet as the Warrior stood there, and downright uncomfortable but added a different element to sparring and combat in general as well. Anyone fighting here wouldn't just be fighting their opponent but the environment, exhaustion and maybe even dehydration as well if they were careful to conserve something of themselves; Garrus knew this.

The Warrior waited...​

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@[member="Mia Monroe"]​

 

[Lina Ovmar]

Mia didn't need to look at the coordinates twice, she knew them well enough. She had trained there many a time in her youth. Her father had always liked to push Mia to the limit, how else does a warrior become great if they do not know their limitations? Even now, Mia was still learning, with her gift, or curse, depending on how you looked at it, many new doors had been opened. Garrus wanted to test himself against Mia, and Mia wanted to see what she was capable of. Though she would keep that to herself.

Bare feet padded across the floor, dressed in loose pants and a fitted tank top, she ran her fingers across the damp walls as she entered "Aay'han," she said softly "It's been a long time." The air was thick with the heat and it would take a moment or two to adjust to it. With her beskad strapped to her back, she placed her self before Strider's brother and surveyed him silently. The only sound in the room was the gentle dripping as condensation ran down the wall and dropped from the ceiling above them.

"If your body is true and your heart still strong." She chuckled finally breaking the silence. "You are the first to question those two, most are more concerned with my mind. The few that know me, well" she shrugged "I assume your brother pointed you my way?"

@[member="Garrus Garon"]

 

[Garrus Garon]

...when Garrus saw Mia enter the chamber his head would lower so that his eyes could focus on her completely, he'd been in the chamber longer than her so he'd already adapted to the heat to the extent that he could, she looked mostly as he expected her to but still he drank her all in. He'd see the Beskad strapped across her back but he didn't move to retrieve his own. Everything Garrus knew of Mia was secondhand which is why he only considered it to a certain extent; he'd likely learn much more about her in this personal meeting than anything he could have ever learned about her listening to someone else...

...as he looked across at her, noting when she chuckled, he'd have smiled vaguely..."Your mind seems capable enough to me."...he didn't know her well, at all really, but he considered himself to be a good judge of character when it came to people. He took a look at Mia and he had been satisfied with what he'd seen. Nodding his head he replied..."He mentioned your name a time or two."...then Garrus would begin walking towards Mia, covering the short distance between the both of them quickly...

...he came at her dead on, his arms raising and hands balling into fists that made the cloth wrapped around them tense, and when he was within arms reach he'd strike. Not something wild and unbalanced but simple. Popping out his right arm Garrus would jab at Mia, a blow meant to test her and utilize the length of his arm optimally, so that he could gauge the distance between them. He jabbed twice in quick succession right at her face, one two, with the same arm while bobbing lightly on the balls of his feet...​

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@[member="Mia Monroe"]​

 

[Lina Ovmar]

Arms snapped up so his blows only landed on her forearms. When the second one connected her hand flashed out to curl around his wrist, while she drove her own punch home, aiming for his jaw. Then both hands came back her, curling into fists in a guarded position. Her feet shifted, evening her weight out and she smirked at Garus. She wasn't a boxer, she preferred to bring her opponents down quickly, and the fact that she was only just over five foot tall often went against her.

It was however, a test of stamina. She smirked at Garrus, an invitation to strike again.

@[member="Garrus Garon"]

 

[Garrus Garon]

...when Mia snatched his wrist Garrus had to admit that she was fast. Jabbing was, as explained, a gauging technique as much as anything else meant to test an opponent and the quick recoil of the arm following the completion of the jab would mean that hand speed would have been paramount. Nonetheless Garrus was hardly surprised, Mia was a former Manda'lor after all so one could expect she boasted a great deal of skill, but the Warrior was hardly daunted by this and went on the offensive with a counter measure as soon as she lashed out him with her own attack...

...planting his right foot after Mia had taken the same wrist, he had been jabbing with his right arm, Garrus would pivot his left side forward while Mia drove a punch home towards his jaw and, pushing with his left arm, would seek to parry her arm to the outside of his face with an open palm. Wincing a tad Garrus still felt the blow graze past his jaw, it would have hurt if it had connect fully, though he remained largely unscathed due to his own defense. As Garrus pushed with his left arm he'd follow the attempted parry by dropping his elbow overtop Mia's arm in a downwards arcing blow for the right side of her head using his leverage for a greater amount of momentum...

...regardless of what happened Garrus wouldn't give Mia uch time to recover and with his left side angled ahead after the pivot of his body he'd wrench his right arm backwards so that it was level with his hip before driving it forward, trying to come underneath Mia's arms, towards her stomach. He wanted to lift her right off the ground and his fists were life hammers. Garrus was very much a pugilist; he didn't go in for many fancy moves but he was very good when it came to stand up boxing and dirty boxing.​

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"Come at me!"...he barked out as he came at her.​

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@[member="Mia Monroe"]​

 

[Lina Ovmar]

Mia ducked beneath the elbow coming for her head, considering Garus had at least a foot on her in height, it wasn't a hard feat. Both hands snapped down, palms first to catch the uppercut. The force still lifted her from her feet but minimised the damage. She grunted, and pushed herself away from Garrus, pausing for a moment.

Don't think Mia'ika, just act.
If I don't think, then I could do more damage than intended, or not enough.
If you think to much, you will miss something, Mia'ika.

Even now, after so many years, she could still hear Jaxx's teachings. She mentally shook them away and a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips at Garrus taunt. She stepped forward once more each movement was sharp and fast, a roundhouse punches came in with her right hand, aiming for the soft flesh beneath his ribs, and then an uppercut with her left, intending to catch Garrus chin and snap his head back.

@[member="Garrus Garon"]

 

[Garrus Garon]

...he would have smiled as Mia came towards him exactly as he had bade her to do, she was playing a dangerous game coming at the Warrior despite her own prowess, and as she came at him Garrus would have shifted to draw his right side forward at a forty-five degree angle so that he lead with his right. Using his left arm he would have set it across his side and stomach, protecting himself as Mia's right came for his soft flesh underneath the ribs, it was a basic blocking technique that utlized the arm however it allowed him to absorb the initial punch reasonably well. His arm would ache but Garrus was apt at dealing with pain. As Mia followed with an uppercut she'd find Garrus had already positioned himself to receive and counter her next blow...

...he'd positioned himself into a right side lead, which meant when Mia came at him his right side would have been forward and tighter with her, and Garrus would have actually sucked himself into Mia so that he could minimize the force of her blow as it came up at him. Having drawn himself into Mia he'd have felt her uppercut land against his ribs on the right side instead, it hurt and the Mandoaorian would grunt but no one ever went into a fist fight expecting not to get hit, he'd deal with it. There'd be some bruising to contend with later but that wasn't a concern at the moment. That wasn't all though...

...as Mia landed her uppercut Garrus would sweep his right hand over her left shoulder, using the close proximity of their bodies to make it difficult for her to raise her arm higher after the fact, so that he could hook it back behind her neck. He'd use his hand to control her head and try to pull it downwards. Once his right hand had swept out he'd pump his left arm ahead, it was already positioned due to Garrus having blocked Mia's initial blow, and driving it forward he'd attempt to pummel Mia with a quick combination of one, two to her stomach with the third driven higher towards her face in a heavier, harder, blow.

By now the heat of the chamber had begun to affect Garrus too; his face was lined with sweat and beads of it were trickling down his brow, stinging his eyes a bit, but the Warrior had stamina to match his martial prowess.​

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@[member="Mia Monroe"]​

 

[Lina Ovmar]

Feth.

That was the only thought that came into Mia's head as Garrus drew closer. This was where her small stature went against her, this was precisely why she avoided confrontations like this. Her tactics? Make them hit the ground before they could hit you first. And it worked, mostly. She pulled her arms in close to her, as his swept over the back of her neck, forcing her to look down so she could see what was coming, perhaps not a wise move.

Her face was her priority, bringing both forearms up she took the hits to the stomach, tensing her muscles as they came in the hope it would offer some barrier. It didn't. The air left her lungs and she gasped, buckling slightly though her arms held fast as the third attack connected brutally. She tried not to think about how much she was going to hurt after this. It was time to change the game, calling on the force she snapped both hands forward to connect with Garrus chest, using the force like a battering ram to slam him into the wall opposite her.

Her hand reached above her head and slid free her beskad with a hiss. The thick heat of the air coupled with the fact that she was badly winded was making it very difficult for her to breathe. She was not about to let him get that close again.

@[member="Garrus Garon"]

 

[Garrus Garon]

...nothing to do but enjoy the ride. While Garrus was force sensetive, he may have even been able to feel Mia's manipulation of the force before she thrust her hands into his chest and drove him backwards, he was not trained in its use which meant he had no idea what was about to happen. Nothing except, maybe, the knowledge that something he couldn't quite perceive was about to strike him and then it would have landed; there was precious little to do in such close quarters and while, usually, Mia would have opened herself up to another attacking doing what she had the use of the force ensured that it was Garrus who was caught in a bad way this time...

...the Warrior was thrown, not tossed but literally thrown, backwards towards the wall of the chamber however even driven back he was able to keep his wits about him. As he was flung away from Mia he would used the backwards momentum, the power of the force being driven into him, to fall back, away, and roll from his back onto his chest again as he went. Skidding back across the floor Garrus would have extended one of his legs behind him while he took an on all fours position and used that leg to buffer his impact against the well, the muscles tensed and the leg would bend to minimize the impact further, just like he was putting on the brakes as he came to a halt. It was one of those things that seemed pretty nifty to look at and it helped that he was enhanced physically or else that may not have gone as smoothly. When it had all settled Garrus would regain his footing, it was hard for him to breath and a large bruising was obvious across his chest where blood vessels had burst underneath the skin due to Mia's force thrust, and notice that she'd reached back to draw her Beskad...

..."That's the way you want it huh?"...he rasped out once, still catching his breath, while laying a hand across his bruised chest. It was painful, it stung and itched like he'd been hit by a hundred needles, but Garrus quickly started to block it out of his mind. He'd move back along the wall of the chamber to where he had left his Beskad, leaning against the stone, and take it up in his right hand. Grabbing the sheath of the Beskad with his left hand he'd have pulled the large sword free with a single pull, the sheath was discarded once more afterwards, of his right and then extended his arm to aim the Beskad out towards Mia. Looking at her, a slow breath taken as he got his wind back, he'd have said..."If it's a lesson in steel you want Mia Monroe then you've come to the right place."...then he positioned himself right side a foot ahead of the left as he angled his body; the Beskad held out, extended towards her, its blade aimed at her collar bone. Her move...​

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@[member="Mia Monroe"]​

 

[Lina Ovmar]

Mia concentrated for a moment on breathing. Sweat trickled down the back of her neck, and she brushed the tickling trails from her forehead with a laugh that ended with a wince of pain. "So full of hubris, Garrus." she smirked. "Dangerous."

She advanced, pushing pain from her mind and focusing on the man before her as she mirrored his stance beskad held in one hand at her side for a moment. "Arrogance will get you killed." She brought the blade into a two handed grip and struck high from the right, then bringing it lower to shoulder height from the left. Time to test his defences, and see if he could put money where his mouth was.

@[member="Garrus Garon"]

 

[Garrus Garon]

...he listened to Mia laugh, heard her words, but he didn't respond to them. All Garrus did was watch as Mia took a stance that mirrored his own and advance on him. The Warrior didn't seem worried as Mia came closer to him; he just waited and watched knowing exactly when he would need to act to defend himself. Before she could hit him she'd need to come within range of him and Garrus was able to gauge her easily due to his stance; he'd extended his Beskad and aimed it towards knowing that she'd need to come within his reach if she wanted to attack him which is exactly what Mia did...

...when she came at him Garrus would rotate his wrist so that the Beskad he was holding turned inwards while reaching up to take the hilt of the sword beneath his right hand with his left in a two handed grip. As he did this Garrus would swing the sword over from his right to left so that it would impact with Mia's loudly and cause both of the Beskad to cross in a very visable X when they clashed together. Once he'd made the block Garrus would follow by pressing his blade against Mia's in what became a two pronged maneuver, he would try to ride his Beskad down towards the hilt of her sword to give himself more leverage before lifting the hilt of his sword up and to his right so that he could angle it up over Mia's...

...then Garrus would press down hoping to push Mia's Beskad towards the ground..."Skill keeps me alive though."...he countered the last statement she'd made to him then. With that Garrus took a long step backwards with his right foot, drawing his right side away so that he could turn himself into a left side lead opposite to the one he had begun with, and as he did this he'd lift his Beskad, swinging it back and to his right so that it would end up held over his right shoulder vertically, in a blow that reached for Mia's right forearm once the swords had disconnected...

..."You're strong. I can why you were the Manda'lor."...he'd have paid her a polite compliment, expecting her to come at him again, though he never lost his focus. His chest still burnt, itched, from the force thrust and the large red bruising where he'd been struck would likely be with him for some time but Garrus loved this. He was no force user but fighting was where his passion lay...​

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[member="Mia Monroe"]
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