Shepard had to admit, she was impressed by how quickly Leliana had managed to rally such a large crowd. Admittedly, sparring sessions in the Alliance could get… rowdy, but she'd never had children sitting to watch before. Rotating her shoulders she observed the tired faces of the mages and templars milling quietly around the edge of the arena, a dirt pit that had been generously strewn with straw. Making a show of it, she sauntered over to the weapons rack laden with wooden replicas, tossing a wink to a disgruntled looking mage in a ridiculous hat.
At her back Aiden suddenly appeared, his head hovering over her shoulder as she pretended to test the heft and weight of the practice weapons before her.
"Have a plan, Commander? I don't think I've ever seen you use any of these." he gestured to the wooden mace she was currently making a show of inspecting.
Shepard forced a smirk in return. "We learn all kinds of weapon training at N school. You just sit tight, I'll be handing your friend his ass within the first few seconds."
He raised a skeptical eyebrow, looking pointedly at the way she gripped the handle. "Really?"
"Really." With that she shifted away, dropping the mace in favor of picking a sword in each hand. She knew she was no medieval weapon specialist. Not like fighting a Krogan or Turian close range had ever been in the soldier 101 book. But… how different could it be? She traced her eyes to Alistair's towering form, watching as he nervously swung a wooden sword and shield. Besides, all those synthweave muscles had to be good for something. Tossing her head she stepped towards the center of the ring. "You ready over there?" she called to Alistair.
He huffed in response. "Just checking to make sure I can defeat you, cheese thief."
A genuine smile curved her lips as she settled into a low stance, swords held at her sides. A titter fluttered through the crowd at her pose.
Alistair paused, deliberately looking at her form with an exaggerated head tilt. "Well, what do you know? I do think my chances are looking up."
Shepard scoffed, tossing the blades lightly in a showy flip.
"Are you… ready?" This from a nervous looking templar at the edge of the arena. He too was watching Shepards stance with an incredulous look.
She nodded in response, eyes flicking to train on her opponent.
Across from her Alistair sighed. "As I'll ever be." Begrudgingly he stomped to the middle, settling his shield into place with a clang. "For the honor of my stolen cheese."
The crowd all let out soft laughs at that, a new energy filling the area as Leliana stepped forward. She nodded to both of them before lifting her hand into the air. She paused assessing them both before quickly slashing her hand down. "Begin!"
Alistair's confident smirk disappeared as Shepard immediately tossed her flimsy wooden swords to the ground and ran at him full tilt. She skidded below the initial swipe of his sword, sliding in behind him with a cloud of straw and dust. In seconds she wrapped her arms firmly around his legs, hefting his entire weight with ease as she shifted them both over her shoulder. His attempt to bat her away with his shield was met with a gloved hand punching through as she grabbed his arm and drove him into the ground, rolling to pin him in a shoulder lock, her knee firmly wedged into the middle of his back.
He lay stunned below her in shock, jerking uncertainly against her grip. "Andraste's flaming knickers woman! You fight like an ogre!" He yelped as she tugged on his arm in retaliation for his remark.
"Rule number one when sparring, don't assume anything about your opponent."
He scoffed at that, resigning himself to laying in the straw. "Oh well pardon me if you tackling me like a barbarian wasn't in my cards! Don't your people know how to properly spar?!"
The crowd around them laughed in response. At that Shepard eased up, offering Alistair a hand as he flopped over onto his back. "Oh Alistair, you don't want to see me in a proper spar." With a resigned sigh he grabbed it, allowing her to pull him quickly to his feet. Turning away from him she smiled at the crowd of eager faces. "Anyone else want to go?"
A nervous titter filtered around the assembled group, a few templars looking nervously at each other.
"I will fight."
Shepard blinked in surprise as Sten stepped forward.
The giant simply grabbed a greatsword from the rack and settled into position across from her. "We shall see if you're worthy of the title you claim, Commander."
Immediately Leliana stepped forward, Alistair at her side, the two of them speaking simultaneously. "I'm not sure if…" "Maybe we shouldn't."
"Vashedan, this is a spar is it not?" He gestured the two worried companions away and faced Shepard. "Pick your weapon properly, your tricks will not work on me."
Leliana turned to Aiden with a concerned sound but the Warden simply nodded to Sten in response. Noting his approval Shepard inclined her head to Sten and settled into an unarmed stance. The crowd "oh'd" in surprise.
The Qunari's expression flattened. "An… interesting choice."
"A poorly known weapon is a bigger handicap than not having any."
He seemed to pause, sizing her up. "Indeed."
Around them the crowd erupted, the sound of clinking coins echoing as bets were quickly made. At its center Leliana stood, hesitantly waiting for everyone to settle. As silence descended she stepped forward, watching them both carefully for a moment. "Begin!" she ordered, quickly stepping back into the crowd.
Sten immediately surged forward, his long stride and large reach closing the gap between Shepard and himself before she could attempt another tackle. He swung down with devastating speed towards her shoulder, the crowd gasping as she threw herself to the side.
His speed and reach were impressive. Shepard rolled to her feet, just barely missing another swipe aimed at her head. Around them the crowd tittered and jeered, shouts of encouragement filtering through the air. Narrowing her eyes she tracked Sten's blade as it whirled back around. Impressive, but not unstoppable. At the next swing of his sword she slid around his left side, hand striking quickly against his armored flank before kicking hard at the back of his knee. His eyes widened in surprise at the strength, his leg partially buckling.
Shepard didn't give him a chance to recover. Swiftly she wrapped her arm around his, locking his hand in hers. She shifted, swinging her legs up and over his shoulders and around his neck where he made a choked sound in surprise. His hands shot up to grab her thighs now twisted firmly around his head but she simply tightened her grip.
Locking her hand in his she twisted, hard, throwing her body backwards and overbalancing them both. With a grunt he toppled, his weight coming down as she shifted to the side.
On the ground now he tried to break her hold, one hand trying to tug itself from her death grip, the other prying at her leg.
"Yield" She ordered him. When he instead grunted and renewed his efforts she tightened her legs sharply, eliciting a wheeze in response. "I said… yield,"
Purple eyes glared at her for a moment before sliding closed in concession. His hand tapped lightly against the armor of her thigh. Immediately she released him, jumping to her feet to offer him a hand as he took deep breaths.
To her surprise he grabbed her hand, allowing her to lever him quickly to his feet. "You are stronger than you look," he told her, shrewd eyes locking with hers.
"I get that a lot." She returned blandly.
He shook his head and released her. "Well fought, Commander."
With that a roar echoed from the crowd, templars and mages alike cheering at seeing the two strangers fighting. Shepard smiled, offering a wave to the assembled people. Abruptly Zevran slid into position at her side as Sten stomped away, a smirk curving his lips.
"Your winnings."
She blinked in surprise. "Oh?"
Zevran nodded, hefting a brown bag in her direction. "Yes, our large warden friend placed a bet for you!" he turned to gesture to Alistair's rapidly retreating back. The tall blond was rushing away from the crowd, Aiden at his side. Zevran hummed at the sight. "Do you think it's serious?"
"Maybe…" She allowed. Reaching down she hefted the bag full of coins from his hand. "Thanks Zevran."
"Don't thank me! It was Alistair who placed his hard earned coin on you."
She regarded him thoughtfully. "You didn't bet on me?"
"But of course I did! And I was rewarded quite handsomely. Those templars had no faith in you." He shook his head with a chuckle before refocusing on her. "I heard you're going to be with us for the foreseeable future! We can't have you wandering around with no coin" He patted her back lightly as she frowned. "And anyway, seeing our stoic qunari friend take a beating was well worth being a messenger boy."
She opened the bag, taking out the rough hewn coins to inspect, distractedly sorting through the different sizes. "Sten is a good warrior, he almost got me there with the first swipe." She paused, pulling out a large gold coin. "What gives you the impression I'm staying?"
Zevran raised his eyebrows and leaned back. "Am I mistaken?"
Shepard dropped the pretense of inspecting the coins and met his gaze head on. "What do you think?"
He lifted a hand to his chin and made a soft contemplative sound. "I think people like you are the type to do what you think is right." At her scoff he flicked his wrist in an "away" motion. "By that I mean you see someone in need and you help them. Between you, Leliana and Alistair, it's like being surrounded by a gaggle of Chantry mothers. Me? I hold no such feelings. Should the opportunity present itself I would leave Ferelden tomorrow."
Shepard regarded him skeptically. "Really? Because that's not what I think you would do."
"No?" He chuckled, eyes dark. "Wait till you get to know me better." With that he patted her back and turned to walk away. "Best remove those ridiculous flowers from your hair and go pack. We're leaving within the hour. Something about the dwarves I think?"
Shepard sighed, tuning out the sound of the mages and templars still excitedly chattering around her as she watched Zevrans retreating back. Dwarves… great. Bending her head she regarded the simplistic coin in her hand, thoughts swirling. If only Zevran knew her as well as he thought he did. Clasping her hand firmly over the coin she straightened and moved swiftly towards the tower. Even if she couldn't get her comm fixed, no reason to not see if she could have someone take a look before she had to go.