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In a field located a little ways away from Warsaw, Tosia Laurinaitis was slipping white gloves onto her hands and inspecting her appearance as she awaited her companion, Felija. The brown horse beside her, was feeding on a patch of grass a little ways to her left and had been brushed earlier that morning. Her saddle had been polished, her horseshoes replaced. She had brought her wolf along, its silky light gray fur gleaming as it sunbathed beneath a tree, blue optics watching her and the horse. The horse, unphased by the carnivorous mammal's presence, continued to feed.
Tosia grabbed a rag and began to polish her sword's blade. God, that Pole was always so late to everything. She would never say anything about it though. She assumed that she enjoyed having a few momenta to herself before having to get to work. Having a few moments to think everything over, and having a few moments to gather all of her anxieties as well.
Satisfied with her work, Tosia put her sword back into its sheath at her side. When she looked up, she spotted that familiar dark gray horse and that familiar training outfit in the distance that was nothing at all like the dress she usually wore. Nothing like a dress at all, actually, but that only made sense.
Tosia straightened up her posture, looking back to her wolf and uttering a fierce "Likti" before turning back to her horse and mounting it.
Felija neared, her horse coming to a halt near hers. "Hey, Liet."
"You are late once again, Felija," Tosia replied. "What kept you?"
"What always keeps me," she replied, sighing. "Czarniecki wanted to make sure I didn't need or want him to come."
Tosia sighed as well, then nodded. "Alright, well that's just like him. You are ready to begin, I hope?"
Felija grinned. "Wow, want to get into it so quickly?" At Tosia's unimpressed glare, she nodded, unphased. This always happened.
"Dullest end only," she reminded, drawing her sword and commanding her horse to gallop toward the opposing side of the field. She looked over her shoulder, as if doing a double-take, then halted. "Oh, and, Liet– why is your dog here?"
"I thought she could use a day out," Tosia replied. "And she's a wolf," she added after a moment. She looked down at her horse and blushed as Felija laughed and kept going.
Once Felija reached the other side, she called out, "Ready?"
"Ready," Tosia replied, gripping her sword tighter.
Felija snapped the reigns down on her horse's back and ordered it to charge forward. Tosia ordered hers to move forth as well. The wolf stood up behind her, but did not disobey the order to stay put. Felija neared, and they met with a clash of metal. Tosia felt her horse rear up in fear at the loud clank the metal produced, but it didn't sprint off.
The main goal every time they brawled was to get the other off her horse, although sometimes it was different. This included with or without injuries, since nations healed quicker than humans did. They had established the 'dullest end of the sword only' rule a few years ago when a fairly painful injury occurred involving Felija's arm. They both knew that the swords didn't have an end that wouldn't do damage, it was a sword after all, but it was a nice assurance that said, "Hey, I don't mean to hurt you."
Felija was the first to jab at Tosia's arm, causing her to pull her it out of the sword's reach. Felija ran on a "He who strikes first always strikes twice" policy, and Tosia knew this, so she was able to dodge the other's second jab toward her chest. She yanked on the reigns to force her horse to rear up and run forward. The running part was not supposed to happen.
She swore loudly as Felija gave chase, yanking roughly on the reigns once more and yanking them to the side to stop the horse and make it turn, turning in barely enough time to hold out her sword as the Pole approached. Having charged after the Lithuanian, Felija was barely able to stop her horse in time to not be impaled by the sword held out toward her. Felija's horse came skidding to a stop just as she approached the sword, its tip jabbing her chest and almost piercing skin.
Felija slowly raised her hands, trying her best to ignore the discomfort. "You got me, Liet," she said, looking at the sword. "I have no idea how I didn't expect that."
Tosia removed the sword quickly from her companion's chest. "Now, in real battle, you won't be so ignorant. I hope," she said. She slipped the sword back into its sheath. "Shall we go again?"
"This time I'm totally gonna get you," Felija challenged with a grin.
"Are you willing to bet on that?" Tosia replied, flashing her a quick grin.
"I am," Felija said. "How's a hundred złotys sound?"
"Deal."
Tosia gestured for Felija to remain and galloped off to the other side of the field. She gathered her thoughts and called out, "Ready?" When she was met with assurance, she immediately set off. Felija did as well, but slower this time. Tosia felt herself grow slightly nervous. What was this Pole planning? Was it only to fake her out or was it an actual plan? These thoughts made her increasingly puzzled.
While thinking about this, she hadn't noticed running straight past Felija. Snapping back into reality too late, she found herself with the Pole charging right at her. Tosia held the flat end of her sword against her palm as Felija swung, a large clank sounding. The force sent her backwards, almost falling off her horse. The horse reared back at the loud sound once more, and that put the Lithuanian off of it. It ran a bit forwards and then, realizing its rider had fallen off, paused and stayed put.
Felija approached her as she was starstruck on the grass, putting her sword tip down toward her neck, but not touching it. "If I were a Teutonic Knight, would you have let me get away with that?" she inquired, not moving the sword back.
"No, of-of course not," Tosia replied, sitting up quickly, still trying to figure out what had just happened. "I would never--"
"Good," Felija said, moving the sword away from her neck and putting it into its sheath at her side. She dismounted her horse, approaching Tosia. She extended a hand to assist her in standing up. "God, Liet, you're usually the one telling me to stay focused during battle." She laughed lightly.
Tosia nodded, taking Felija's hand and standing up. She brushed herself off and slipped her sword away as well, laughing gently. "Well, you got me, somehow. How exactly..?"
"Background knowledge," Felija shrugged. "Won't do me any good in real battles, I guess. But little scuffles like this, it totally works. Also, your horse is scared to death of the metal clashing. You should totally fix that. Won't do you any good in battle."
"I noticed that too. Not sure how to fix it, but I'll figure it out," Tosia said. "Anyway, we still have another half and hour about. Another match?"
"Sure," Felija replied. "I'm not losing again." She mounted her horse and looked back as Tosia went to go get hers.
"I'd like to see you try and win again," Tosia said, jogging over to Dykuma and mounting her. "You willing to bet?"
With a laugh, Felija turned and snapped the reigns, her horse running off to the other side of the field. Tosia patted her horse on the side of the head. "I guess she wasn't."