Some Battles are Fun

[Jeremy Thorne]

Stretching his arms over his head, Jeremy glanced around the room at the other people who were around, exercising and doing other things. The Healer had always been into exercising, ever since his quidditch days when practice and conditioning had been mandatory. That was nothing compared to what he was doing these days. Jeremy had become a strict runner, even considering training for a marathon once or twice. He had been considering it again recently. The man knew that he was in the best shape he'd been in for years, mostly thanks to Yev's insistence that Jeremy learn how to defend himself with his fists and not just with magic. The Healer had just finished practicing with a dummy as a punching bag, his fists were stiff, his arms and shoulders sore from the work. Jeremy didn't think he would like this sort of thing, at first. He'd found it to be oddly relaxing though. The Healer still didn't think he understood his friend's fascination with hitting other people. It was one thing to hit a bag or an enchanted dummy, but Jeremy still wasn't at the stage where he thought he could use his fists to hit another person, especially not to cause them harm. Hitting them with spells was another story. Jeremy had never been part of the dueling team in school, but he had grown to love it as an adult. A couple of his Healer friends belonged to a team, and Jeremy had joined them a couple of times.

Glancing at Yev, Jeremy wondered if he'd be willing to do a quick duel before they headed out. The pair had the day ahead of them and nothing really planned. Reaching for his wand, Jeremy winked at Yehveniy and then slid closer to him on the bench. He had a towel wrapped around his neck, and his blue eyes glanced towards the empty dueling room. It was enchanted to contain any spells so that people in other parts of the gym didn't have to fear being hit by a rogue trip jinx. "Let's duel, Yev. Winner can be the boss for the rest of the day, and the loser has to go along with anything the winner wants" he smirked. He knew that Yev was usually game for things like that, and Jeremy would at least stand a chance. Even after all this training, the Healer still couldn't hold a candle to Yev in a sparring session. Jeremy had come to the realization that Yev was just more scrappy and didn't have the fear of hurting someone with his fists that he did. Yev seemed to relish the idea. It would just depend on what kind of mood Yev was in. As they'd spent more time together, Jeremy had begun to realize that there were times when Yev was a lot more introverted than other times, almost as if his mind was somewhere else. He was never inattentive, but Jeremy got the sense that he was sometimes distracted. He hoped today wasn't one of those days. " I already have a list of things you can do when I win" he added quietly, though he had a mischievous smile on his face as he said it.

 

[Yevheniy Kharchenko]

The recently turned twenty year old's life had been pretty interesting, things were a little different from how he imagined his time within this country would be like, it had been just over a year since he had arrived in the country and despite what he'd told his father, the teen had no real interest in returning to Ukraine permanently to live again. He went back at least once a month to spend time with his father and uncles, which usually ended up in a lot of drinks and a lot of violence, the usual things which Yev did love, but his life was all in New Zealand now. His home country was where he'd just spent the last weekend, and that explained that while he was usually all in for working out, there was a slight reluctance in his movements and in his motivation, he had been healed from the last heavy fight which his father had started when he'd been in Ukraine but his body was obviously still a little stiff (although the same was generally true after any excursion with the other elementalists). His father had no idea what he was doing in New Zealand, but Yevheniy wasn't actually about to tell him anything and as long as Yev was keeping busy which was what he told his father he was doing, his father didn't kick up a fuss about Yev still being out in this country rather than at home. Yev had been less than forthcoming about the time he spent with Jeremy to his father, since the relationship was not as clear-cut as to merit his father being told. The sort of relationship which they had suited the younger man a lot, there was no pressure for it to be labelled or made official in any way, they both had busy schedules and Yev could balance the work he did with the other elementalists with the time he could spend with Jeremy without having to deal with too many questions. Yevheniy did enjoy all the time he spent with Jeremy, and he liked the sort of stability it gave his life, the man was different from everyone else he knew and this difference was a good thing, a thing Yev enjoyed a lot. Yev and Jeremy were not similar people, but somehow the managed to make things work, and the times the Ukrainian spent with him always gave his life in New Zealand a little more meaning, than bars, fights and dark magic. True to his word from that date night, which had ended with exactly Yev's kind of fun, Yevheniy had begun teaching Jeremy how to fight. Yev had been fighting for years, alternating between magic and muggle methods of fighting, but teaching Jeremy to fight the muggle way had been proving to be quite fun for the twenty-year old.

There was an obvious reluctance to hit people, which Yev could see in Jeremy's fighting style, but the man was determined to bring it out of the other man, the younger of the two had his methods in fights, he was little more ruthless and a little more scrappy, he wasn't teaching Jeremy that but something more suited to him. It was Yev's next step, to have Jeremy properly fight him, or for Yev to grab one of his friends for him to fight, so that he could rather than just sparring, to end up putting Jeremy in an all out unorganised chaotic fight that would put in practice everything Yev was teaching him. With the day at their feet Yevheniy was looking forward to whatever they might do, he had cleared his day, and his night so that he could spend this time with Jeremy, his mind focused on Jeremy and not drifting off to whatever he was doing with the Elementalists at that given moment, all his attention was on the healer. As he just watched the other man stretch and then slide closer to him on the bench, Yev's face melted into a small smirk, until the words fell from Jeremy's mouth, a duel? The Ukrainian man wasn't sure how much he would enjoy that, he liked fighting and he loved duelling but a duel between them wasn't what he wanted, his duelling style was much like his fighting style, but with the stuff he was learning with the elementalists he wasn't sure how much of it he wanted to put on show. However, the challenge had been set and Yev didn't want to not accept it, especially given that Jeremy smiled so mischievously that he couldn't not accept it, so he nodded, "You're on," the thickness of his accent lingered, but there was a definite improvement on his english. He took out his own wand and then motioned for the healer to lead the way, "I vill go easy on you," Yev was engaging him in friendly competition, as he got himself ready, inviting Jeremy to be the one to start the fight.
​

 

[Jeremy Thorne]

Jeremy knew that Yev would accept. There was no way he couldn't. The man liked fighting and dueling certainly fell into that. The Healer had no idea that there might be a reason to cause Yev to be reluctant. In his mind, thks was just something to do, something fun that would lead to even more fun things later on. It wasn't everyday that the pair had the entire day before them to spend together. It had been a few months since they'd started hanging out, but they still sometimes went days without seeing each other and there were other days when they only saw each other for really short amounts of time and for very specific reasons. The two had never stopped to define what was happening between them, only that they were both enjoying themselves. It was all that mattered. Standing up, Jeremy scoffed. "You better not go easy on me. When I beat you, I want it to be fair and all that" the Healer walked backwards as he spoke.

Jeremy entered the space and waited for Yev to as well, shutting them into the room. The room had a few things to hide behind and a few items scattered around the floor to use as well. He crossed to the far side of the room and glanced at the younger guy. His blue eyes took him in for a moment, all hints of smiling gone as he considered his strategy. It was the Ravenclaw in him that wanted to plan a course of action. "Winner is the first to land three offensive spells, yea?" he called across the room. As soon as he saw Yev nod, Jeremy shot a quick non verbal Cheering charm in Yev's direction. He dove out of the way, expecting an immediate response. When he was behind a large wall, Jeremy called out. "I thought you could use a reason to smile more" he replied with a chuckle.

 

[Yevheniy Kharchenko]

Yevheniy had stood up at the same time as Jeremy had, and couldn't help but chuckle lightly at what he said although Yev did still intend to go easy on him. Yev respected the healer a lot, his life choices, but he wasn't exactly a fighter in anyway, and Yev's life, the things he did with the elementalists that usually leaned itself to training in this sort kind of thing, Yevheniy was a fighter. Which was why he was following behind Jeremy and in his mind mentally preparing himself for what this fight would be like, though he doubted it would be anything like what he was used to, he didn't doubt Jeremy but he wasn't expecting the kind of fights he was more used to. The durmstrang graduate stood in the room, taking in the different objects in the room, letting his eyes glance around himself, taking stock of the room, taking in his surroundings, the limitations the room might have, things he could use to his advantage. With a quick glance at Jeremy he couldn't help but smile at the way that Jeremy was clearly thinking about what he did, he say the same sort of expression in his muggle fighting style. Yev had his wand tight in his hand, and he nodded at the vague rules which Jeremy outlined, his expression turning from one of almost playfulness with this, and hardening considerably. The coldness of his pale blue eyes which he usually was able to keep from Jeremy settling in his hardened expression as he got into a fighting stance, ready for this.

The man's eyes remained focused on Jeremy as the man shot a first spell at him which Yev immediately jumped out of the way from, his training with the Elementalists and instincts just taking over. The newly twenty-year old, crouched on the ground, in a ready position, looking towards the other side of the room, trying to spot where Jeremy was currently, clearly hiding, and reminding himself that this wasn't like the Elementalist training sessions and he didn't need to go as strongly as he did with them. He had to remind himself to use mostly non lethal spells, or spells with limited damage. Yevheniy listened to the voice and where the man seemed to be, without even thinking about, Yev cast a reducto spell at the wall that he was sure that Jeremy was behind, "Reducto," not bothering with being non-verbal with the spell, which in Elementalist training would've been a mistake. Yevheniy remained low, watching where he'd cast the spell to see what Jeremy would do, what kind of response the spell would get, Yevheniy knew he'd probably come a little strong out of the gate, but he was using the method he usually used with the other Elementalists, the nothing to lose method. Yevheniy always fought with everything he had, he wasn't afraid of coming out strong because he had no incline to self-preservation, which would usually tell him or anyone else to be cautious. The spell though was the lesser of the two spells which Yev usually used, his mind still clearly remembering and focusing on the fact this was Jeremy and not someone else.
​

 

[Jeremy Thorne]

As soon as the words slipped through Jeremy's mouth, he realized it was a mistake. As Reducto hit the wall he was hiding behind, Jeremy muttered a curse. He had to move or risk being the first one hit. Adrenaline was pumping through the Healer, eagerness at the challenge. For him, this was just fun. He hoped that it was for Yehveniy as well. The two enjoyed working out together, and Jeremy enjoyed the lessons that he had been receiving even if he had trouble with the idea of actually hitting someone with his fists. The Healer still appreciated knowing how to defend himself, just in case. For most things, Jeremy used magic. He used it for his work and in his home. But, he knew that learning something else he might be able to use was also a good idea. Besides, Jeremy liked learning. And he figured it would be important to know how to fight if he planned on hanging around Yev for any length of time. So far, he'd lucked out and avoided being caught in the middle of the fights that Yev seemed to have a penchance for finding. He knew it was only a matter of time though.

As the wall shrank, leaving him basically out in the open, in a crouched position, Jeremy grinned in Yev's direction. "Good one." That had been a smart move, one he probably should have seen coming from a mile away. That probably explained why Yev hadn't bothered hiding what spell he was using. Without a word, he let loose a quick trip jinx before standing up and getting ready to run or jump out of the way. There was another wall not too far away, but he knew he couldn't just hide behind it again. If he did that, sooner or later, Yev would have used reducto on all of them and there'd be nowhere to hide.

 

[Yevheniy Kharchenko]

Yevheniy watched as the wall shrank and the healer appeared to half emerge, a smirk found it's way on to the twenty-year olds face and he was feeling a little bit calmer about this fight, like he could have fun. His experiences of duelling was likely very different to what Jeremy was used to, which was what Yev was really trying to account for as he was planning his next move, he didn't particularly want to hurt Jeremy, or end up going a little too far with this, which was likely why he was being a little extra cautious in his internal planning. Walking a little, his eyes focused on the older man but failed to notice the tripping jinx which caused him to trip unceremoniously and fall down on to the ground, for a brief moment Yev felt deep anger boiling up within him, but he got himself back on to his feet a few seconds later, "Come on now, don't be childish," he said brushing himself off and then glancing towards Jeremy, he knew that the trip jinx was a first year spell which was why he felt annoyed at being bested by it. He didn't particularly feel like losing this now, new resolve within in to win this fight.

Yevheniy didn't take his eyes off Jeremy as he took a few steps back, looking to hide as he planned his next move, he then without speaking, shot a Obscuro curse at him, before moving to be slightly more hidden, before he could even see if his spell had done any damage or succeeded he shot another spell, this time a Babbling curse, he then hide himself carefully behind a piece of wall and waited, trying to hear if his spells had work, if either had hit. He was much calmer in this fight than in others, this fight was a little more structured than the ones he was used to, which were chaotic, violent and used the different skills he was learning. This was like when he showed Jeremy how to fight, calmer, structured and the analogy in his head seemed to be what kept Yev enjoying this and kept his mind from venturing into the group of spells he was capable of doing that were less than kind.
​

I don't know if you cast two spells like this in a duel type RP, let me know if I need to change it.

 

[Jeremy Thorne]

Out of Character:

It's not an official duel, so I think it's ok.

Jeremy hadn't expected the trip jinx to work. It was such a silly spell, one he'd had used on him numerous times in school. It was one of those jinxes that everyone had used on each other in school once they'd learned it just to show they could and because it was always good for a laugh. And as a Ravenclaw, he'd been an easy target. Still, being actually called childish by Yehveniy hurt a little bit, and the smile fell off of his face. It still didn't stop him from mentally telling himself that he'd already scored a point on the man opposite him. It did prevent him from holding up a finger to childishly signify that he'd scored a point. Jeremy could feel the tension of the competition growing in the room as if it was another force. What had started off as a friendly competition seemed to be morphing into something else. Jeremy wasn't sure if he was going to end up regretting this decision. His muscles were tense as he readied himself to dive away in one direction or another. Yev looked much more serious now, and Jeremy knew that he would shoot a spell at any moment.

Even knowing that, Jeremy wasn't prepared for suddenly being in complete darkness. He immediately dropped to the ground, feeling another spell whoosh past right over his head. His shin had banged into something in the process and he felt it throbbing as he cast a quick lumos. It took the man only a few seconds to realize that the room hadn't gone dark. "Now who's being childish?" he said aloud as he looked around the room, trying to find where Yev was hiding. He left the blindfold around his neck as he cast a quick spell that caused a wall to disintegrate. Yev wasn't behind that one though. Jeremy crept forward, trying to remain silent until he spotted what he thought was the top of Yev's head. "Oppugno" he yelled out as he pointed his wand, directing a small pile of empty water bottles to attack the guy.

 

[Yevheniy Kharchenko]

Yev noticed the light from the other man's wand and realised that at least one of the spells had hit, he couldn't help but smile about it, he was hitting a small stride and his mind was just keeping him moving, he loved being able to do duels and even though he was holding back for Jeremy, it was still fun to him. He was still very much enjoying it, the man moved away slightly from where he'd been stood just in time to watch it disintegrate, thankful that he'd moved away and then he just looked to the other man as he sent, water bottles to come attack him, Yev cast a quick finite before they could reach him, which definitely seemed to have the desired effect. Instead he was just trying to figure out another spell to throw at Jeremy, he could see the other boy, spot him with admittedly a little difficulty, perhaps Yev shouldn't underestimate Jeremy's abilities.

Yev took a few steps back, moving away from him and then silently cast Rictusempra at the other man. He wasn't sure how else to make the other man not know his spell, so non-verbal magic was his only method, and really his aim was to keep the fight light, no real spells which could harm him. He wanted to make sure he didn't accidentally cast those spells of dark magic which sat so easily on his tongue, he couldn't cast some of them he knew because he harboured no ill feelings towards Jeremy, but some of them he knew he could as easily cast as he could with Lumos. He didn't want to, and he knew that would definitely put a damper on their day if Jeremy found out at this point the kind of dark magic spells which Yevheniy could cast with practiced ease. The Ukrainian man like this relationship because there were so few questions asked, he didn't want to ruin that at all.
​

 

[Jeremy Thorne]

Jeremy mentally chided himself for not casting the spell non-verbally. Yev was a skilled wizard, and it was child's play to shout out the spell. As the spell was ended, the water bottles clattered to the floor, bouncing and creating quite the chaotic sound. Jeremy looked around quickly trying to decide whether he should hide or attack again. A loud snicker crossed his lips, and his hand shifted to his ribs. It felt like someone had touched his ribs with a feather. Jeremy glanced at his dueling partner with curiosity. It was a moment that he should have used to end the charm. It was one thing to laugh, but quite another to have the tickling charm put on you.

The feeling came back with much more force and Jeremy dropped to his knees, unable to stop himself from laughing out loud. The sound filled the room, his laughter echoing into his own ears. His wand fell out of his hand and rolled a few inches away. It had been ages since he'd laughed this hard. For a moment, just a moment, it felt wonderful. Jeremy knew that he'd been hit with the tickling charm but he was lost to it. The man dropped his hands to the ground, trying to get some relief. It was becoming hard for him to catch his breath, he was laughing so hard. Concentrating on ending the spell was out of the question. If this had been a true battle, Jeremy knew he'd have been a goner. Tears had sprung into his eyes and he looked over at Yev, his fingers digging into the wooden floor, trying to find some traction. "Make. It. Stop" he wheezed out between convulsing laughs.

 

[Yevheniy Kharchenko]

It seemed like his spell had hit as the sound of Jeremy's laughter erupted into the room, breaking the silence of the room. The younger man stood watching, trying to see if the other man threw the spell off himself and then cast one back, but it was a just laughter within the room, and the man felt sure that he was doing pretty well, he stood watching as Jeremy laughed while on the floor, he tilted his head slightly as the older man looked up at him, he wondered if he should help, in a real battle this would be the point where Yev opted to finish it, to throw the final spell and just be done with it, but this wasn't some normal duel, this was Jeremy and it was eventually the wheezed out words which seemed to break Yev's trance over just watching him. Although he did have two options when it came to help him, either wander over and try to help him, or to stand at the side and try to help him.

Part of Yevheniy wanted to go and see if he was alright, but a part of him was sure this might just be a ploy to get him to move closer, to be within target range, so instead he pointed his wand at Jeremy and said, "Finite" which was sure to end the spell, he had a look of concern on his face, "You good to continue, or do you want to hand in the towel?" he asked, challenging Jeremy but still hinting at concern over what had happened and clearly wanting to make sure that the other man was alright before either stopping or continuing. Yev held his wand lightly in his hand, just watching carefully for what Jeremy was doing, how he was acting, after all, Yev had no desire to actually hurt him.
​

 

[Jeremy Thorne]

It was such a relief to the Healer when Yev stopped the spell. He wiped at his eyes and then at his face which had turned clammy from sweat. He hated that spell with a passion. It was torture, and he didn’t understand why it wasn’t considered a curse. That’s definitely what he considered it. Hearing the man’s question, Jeremy shut his eyes for a second. His body was weak from being wracked with laughter, but he was feeling better with each passing moment. His mind recovered much more quickly than his body was, his muscles only now relaxing from the tension of laughing so hard. “Ugh. I hate that damn spell” he moaned as he staggered to his feet, moving forward unsteadily to grab at his wand which had rolled to a stop near one of the remaining walls. As he bent over to pick it up from the floor, Jeremy knew that he was completely exposed. He turned back to Yev with a frown on his face. He wasn’t going to throw in the towel, but he felt like the match was over already. Even if he did manage to win, he wouldn’t consider it a true victory when Yev had him at such a disadvantage and hadn’t done anything.

“You should’ve won anyway” he mumbled grumpily. It was true. With him on the ground lost to laughter, Yev had a clear opening to hit him with another spell and end it all. There’d been no reason for him to end the spell when a win was right there for the taking. “Why didn’t you hit me with another spell?” he asked, tilting his head slightly to the side as he waited for the answer. The Healer was fairly competitive, and being hit with that spell had hurt his pride a bit. He hadn’t expected a win, but he figured it would be competitive to the end. It was clear that Yev was the victor in this in Jeremy’s eyes.

 

[Yevheniy Kharchenko]

Yevheniy knew the question of why he didn't attack was coming, he could only watch in silence as Jeremy got to his feet and seemed to steady himself, Yev just wanted to help him, which was a strange feeling since Yev hardly ever felt the need to help, but in this fight he hardly wanted to win in his usual method of just sheer force, he was however using his usual method of letting someone get back up onto his feet and then fighting with even more force. The former Durmstrang watched the elder of the two pick up his wand and then turn to face him with a frown clear on his face, perhaps it was the right move in Yevheniy's books but it hadn't seemed right to him and the elementalist got the feeling he would have to answer to this, but he really didn't want to, Yev despised having to justify any actions that he took and he was trying to figure out a way out of it, without having to really be honest about his intentions.

"Would you rather I had?" he asked him with a small shrug, his wand was still held in his hand, a slightly defensive stance waiting to see what might come, "There is no fun in kicking a turtle when it's stuck on it's back," Yevheniy thought this was the best explanation, if he had been in a real situation he would've left the spell until he had gotten what he wanted, or relented to fight a little more and beat them more brutally especially when their moral was low or they were being careless, which most were after something like that. It was why Yev stood still, waiting to either hear Jeremy finish this, or to cast another spell, "Come on now doctor," he began, "Fight me properly, no more silly tripping jinxes or silly birds," he was trying to get a rise out of the man, anger him into fighting more brutally, really have some fun with it and cast ever more fun spells.
​

 

[Jeremy Thorne]

Jeremy's eyes widened and then narrowed to slits. Sure, he was defenseless while under that spell but there was no need to put it like that. Jeremy could feel anger rising within him as the statement rang in his ears. He and Yehveniy had never had a proper argument before. They'd had some mild disagreements related to silly things, but they'd never yelled at each other or not spoken for days. He knew it was bound to happen. It was natural in any kind of relationship, friendship or otherwise, but he'd hoped that the fact that they spent so much time apart would prevent it from happening. Jeremy had experienced both with his ex-girlfriend and it was never anything he looked forward to. He could feel that same tension growing within him now as he got the sense that Yev was playing with him. The Healer didn't like it, but it was the next words that sent him over the edge as Yev once again insinuated that he wasn't taking it seriously. If Yev was just trying to get a rise out of him, he'd succeeded.

His hands were still trembling as he still regained his full strength. "You're a jerk" the man stated quietly. Quickly, he raised his wand and sent two spells off quickly. The first was a non -verbal Incarcerous spell. Jeremy had learned how to use the spell well while training to be a Healer. Sometimes, they would have to treat people who wouldn't stay still and binding them was the only safe way to heal them. Jeremy watched the thin silver cords leave his wand, racing towards Yev to entrap him. He'd have only a few seconds to dodge them. The other spell was a quick spell meant to send the man flying backwards if it landed.

 

[Yevheniy Kharchenko]

It appeared that his slight taunting of Jeremy got the exact reaction he was looking for, he could tell by the way that Jeremy's stance changed, he could tell by the way that the tension within the room seemed to grow and the twenty-year old could barely contain his smirk at this, he needed to focus on Jeremy now, especially if Jeremy was actually going to find it, the words stated quietly had Yev shrugging slightly, hoping that he'd either misheard or that they were words given in the heat of the moment. He knew that he needed to focus and rightly so, as two spells were shot out at him, he was able to stop the first with a flick of his back, but unable to stop the second which sent him flying backwards until he hit a wall, his back baring the brunt of the force but smacking his head off it. Finally Jeremy seemed to be fighting back, and this was much to the enjoyment of Yevheniy even if it wasn't to his back.

The elementalist groaned loudly, letting out a small wince of pain as he got to his feet, doing a quick check that he was fine and really just badly bruised rather than anything more, as quickly as he could using the wall to steady himself slightly before firing a spell back at Jeremy, aiming not for Jeremy but for the wall beside him and non-verbally using the spell, Expulso, and then following it, aimed at Jeremy with a Levicorpus, he was definitely enjoying this more now that he had Jeremy actually in his mind fighting, the twenty-year old still aimed to lose but he now knew it wasn't going to be simple or look too obvious, which would work better now that it did before.
​

 

[Jeremy Thorne]

Jeremy watched Yev fly backwards, the wall finally catching him. He didn't smile at succeeding at the spell, though inside he was rather pleased to hear Yev's groan of pain. It served him right. The Healer remained tense, ready to move or block a spell. He was expecting that the guy would shoot something right at him, so the expulso charm to his left surprised him. He lifted his hand, quickly casting a shield charm which blocked the second spell the man sent but still allowed some of the debris from the destroyed wall through. Dust collected in his hair and in his shoulders, and he let out a huge cough to get some of the dust out of his lungs. Jeremy didn't know what it was that Yev had thrown next, but it was powerful and his quickly cast shield charm barely held.

Able to move more easy now that he had regained some of his energy, Jeremy stumbled over a large piece of the wall as he cast the stunning spell. The Healer had lost track of the score, but at this point, it wasn't about that anymore. His competitive side had taken over and this was more about pride then anything else.

 

[Yevheniy Kharchenko]

Yevheniy's first spell caused debris and dust to fill the room rapidly and though it barely touched his side of the room, he was just stood ready trying to spot what the other man was doing, he was smiling happily, finally feeling this fight move into his element. He spotted the other man's spell and just easily deflected it, with a small laugh, he was finally enjoying himself in this and he could feel the other boy's determination at trying to win, "Better Jeremy, better," he taunted ever so slightly, he wanted Jeremy to win the fight, he was still holding back slightly and if Jeremy got the victory he'd feel better about it, but Yev obviously wanted the fight to be slightly more serious, for Jeremy to not be so polite in his spells, Yevheniy dabbled with some of the worst people and he knew how terrible they could, he'd feel better if Jeremy had at least a fighting chance, and he could see the other man definitely had a fighting chance. Yevheniy wasted no time and just shot another spell at him, a diffindo spell, he would've sent a Sectumsempra but that spell was a little brutal for this fight, he had to play somewhat nicer.
​

 

[Jeremy Thorne]

Jeremy might not have been so mad about the whole situation if he didn’t feel like Yev was taunting him and baiting him at every stretch. It was like he was trying to pull something out of Jeremy, something more violent than he had intended when he’d suggested they duel. The Healer had just been expecting a bit of fun out of it, but he was having less and less fun as the duel wore on. Now, it was about beating Yev and shutting him up for a second, though he was sure that he’d enjoy having him do what he wanted him to later on. At least then, he might get some revenge. But, he’d have to win the duel first which he wasn’t entirely sure that he could. The man pulled the blindfold that had fallen around his neck earlier and felt the dust flying off of his hair as he did so. He threw the blindfold to the ground. With a glance down at it, Jeremy noticed that his elbow was bleeding, slow drips dampening his pants, no doubt a piece of the wall had broken off and cut him. The Healer quickly cast a spell to close the wound before wiping the extra blood onto his pants. It was a second that he shouldn’t have wasted. He should have known better than to take his eye off of Yehveniy.

With a groan of pain, Jeremy grabbed at his arm, a huge gash appearing on it. His blue eyes shot up to Yev, a wounded, hurt expression on his face as he realized that the man actually meant to injure him. “What. The. Hell?” he yelled out through gritted teeth. It could have been worse, no doubt, and Jeremy knew it. The Severing spell was a dangerous one, one that could cause a great deal of harm if it wasn’t used correctly. Jeremy didn’t bother to stop the bleeding, instead choosing to shoot another spell quickly off with his wand hand which thankfully had not been hit. He shot this spell at the floor, making the wooden floor soften. It was like moving through quicksand. It affected him too, and Jeremy found himself off balance as he shot the next spell off, a Stinging Hex. If Yev wanted to cause him pain, two could play at that game.

 

[Yevheniy Kharchenko]

Yevheniy was enjoying this more than he had been before, he was almost thankful that the other man had suggested this instead of something boring which had been in his interests to do, something simple, this fight was so much more interesting to him, and he knew that while egging the healer along probably wasn't the best thing, he felt like this was a fair fight, something much more to Yev's level, and though the other man might not appreciate it right now he would later, further down the line, the twenty-year old was sure he might just need to convince Jeremy of all this a little bit. He wasn't even paying that much attention to how the healer was physically, just how he was actually doing in this duel, which Yev thought was more than fair, he'd be concerned if like last time there was something which really required him to be concerned, but from what he could hear there was nothing that Jeremy was currently struggling with like the last time.

The spell seemed to hit when he heard the groan of the other man, and the younger of the two couldn't help the small smirk that erupted on his face, he was enjoying this more and more, but the twenty year old was complete control of his spells and he was trying his hardest to keep in control his training, which was a little more difficult because the spells just sat on his edge, he could feel them, and though because of how he felt towards Jeremy he doubted some of the spells would happen, but he would definitely could feel them. However the floor softened and this disrupted his concentration as he focused on not slipping or falling over on the soft floor, but he didn't realise the second spell which hit him dead on, and took his breath right out of him and caused a stinging sensation to just take over his entire body, he took an unsure step backwards but the floor caused him to fall. He cast a quick babbling curse at Jeremy aiming as well as he could, and then took a few moments to focus himself and remembering his training with the elements, he shot an Aguamenti spell at Jeremy, which was the element he was currently trying to work with and he hoped there would be some real power behind the spell, however, with the stinging sensation still within him, and the man trying to focus on the fight he was just dealing with the pain instead of getting rid of it, but he expected to let the fight come to an end soon.
​

 

[Jeremy Thorne]

Jeremy could tell that the hex had succeeded by how off Yev suddenly was. Sure, the floor didn't help. He was having trouble staying balanced as he was forced to keep moving or risk the floor sinking so far that he'd get stuck. But Yev's first spell flew right over his head and he barely had to duck. Stumbling again, Jeremy had enough of the charm and quickly cast a finite to harden the floors again. It had helped him with Yev but he was struggling just as much as the guy was. It just didn't make sense to keep it up. The Healer hadn't smirked once since he'd cast the cheering charm which felt like ages ago now. As their duel wore on, Jeremy's face showed his level of concentration. He'd dueled before many times but the games had always stayed friendly. This one wasn't exactly unfriendly but he was beyond miffed at how it was turning out. It wasn't the fun duel he'd hoped it would be that would eventually end in even more fun for them once they returned to his home. Now, he wasn't even thinking about the duel ending. He was focused on winning.

A jet of water smacked Jeremy in the stomach, sending him right on to his behind. Before he even tried to get up, Jeremy muttered "nox" plunging the room into darkness. The room turned pitch dark and Jeremy crawled a bit before he got to his feet slowly, knowing he was at just as much of a disadvantage as Yev was. He was trying to be quiet, hoping that would make things harder for Yev. Hearing a noise that really could have been anything with all of the damage they'd done to the room, Jeremy shot a quick non-verbal stunning spell. As the jet of light left his wand, Jeremy dove to the ground so he wouldn't be a sitting duck for whatever Yev threw next.

 

[Yevheniy Kharchenko]

As soon as the man let the spell loose he allowed himself a moment to just try to both stable himself on the still soft ground. It was tiring, but the man was glad that the fight hadn't been as formal as he was sure Jeremy intended, though he was sure that really the other man had wanted fun, it was just a pity that this Yev's idea of fun which was different from Jeremy's. He looked up when the room was plunged into darkness, the stinging sensation still all over his body, he gripped his wand and cast a quick finite so that it would stop, and the stinging did stop which sent a wave of relief over him. Yev with a slightly renewed energy began to slowly move himself back, trying to find shelter or something to hide behind without giving away his location, he was sitting up slightly attempting to get to his feet.

It was in the split second of looking down that Yev missed Jeremy casting the spell and the light was hurtling towards him a little quicker than he could cast a protection spell. His training was not yet complete, he needed it to be fine tuned and this element would clearly come in handy knowing in this duel with Jeremy what his weaknesses were. The spell hit him dead on, the force of which sending him crashing to the floor with a muffled thump considering the still soft floor due to Jeremy's previous spell. Yev was out, laying on his back and his wand clattered beside him, he had always intended to lose this fight, but he had had a little fight in him still, if his concentration hadn't been broken in that small time he might've.
​

 

[Jeremy Thorne]

In the darkness, Jeremy's other senses were heightened so he heard the soft thump and the sound of Yev's wand clatter. He thought it was a trick though and so he remained silent, trying to keep from even breathing too heavily so as not to give up his location. When one long moment turned into another, Jeremy cautiously cast the lumos spell. Immediately, his eyes landed on Yev. The man was laid out on the ground, not moving. Jeremy let out a curse as he beelined for him. Anger had filled him add he had cast the spell, so he knew that there had been some force behind it. The Healer dropped to his knees beside Yehveniy, ignoring his still bleeding arm to point his wand at the guy. The Healer paused for a second as he did. It would serve him right for Jeremy to just leave him to come to on his own. This duel had gone way too far too quickly. The room was ravaged, though he knew it would quickly fix itself one they stepped out. That's what it was designed to do. Still, this carnage was scary to look out. One of them could have been hurt. Badly. Worse than bleeding arms and concussions. Jeremy had no idea what Yev had even been thinking. Sure, his friend pushed him when he was training him to fight the muggle way but never so brutally, so earnestly as this. It was like he had some vendetta to push Jeremy to some sort of breaking point. And he had. At least, Jeremy thought so.

Shame filled him as he glanced at Yev knocked out. The Healer had taken an oath to do no harm to magical people, and he had kept to that mostly. Sure, he'd been in a few fights but always too protect himself, never just for sport. Jeremy brushed a finger down the man's cheek before saying the spell. "Rennervate" he said loudly, no reason for non-verbal spells anymore. The red light of the spell washed over Yev. Jeremy hovered over the man, his face not far from Yehveniy's face to make sure it had worked. Who knew what other injuries the man had. Jeremy knew that he was injured, mostly superficial wounds though he had a terrible pain in his side that might be a broken rib or something. He'd only just begun to feel it right now and he probed the spot gingerly, his breath catching as he hit a tender spot. "Yehveniy. Come on. Open your eyes" Jeremy urged him softly.

 

[Yevheniy Kharchenko]

In his new training with the other Elementalists Yev was being taught how to use his magic, how to fight and duel, and their duelling was gruelling and horrible and on more than one occasion had completely knocked Yevheniy out, but his enjoyment of them most of the time had increased, school type fights bored him to no end and the escalation usually brought Yev new experiences and made him far better at fighting in general. The times the fights went badly, when he lost spectacularly weren't so fun and ended up being usually pretty painful, those were occasionally some of the times when Yev's mind ended up elsewhere for days after them, but all in all, his enjoyment of wizarding fights had changed, no more could he take just the normal fights, more and more. He wished for something more, for something more enjoyable, and despite his best efforts during this, that desire had just slipped out, all because he had helped Jeremy and had wanted to keep going, spurring his mind to fight harder, and more brutally, to egg him on to bring out the real fight he had known that Jeremy was capable of. It had ended with him ultimately losing but very little of Yev would really regret such a choice.

Laying on the ground he felt a growing sensation of awareness in his body, he moved his fingers slightly, but didn't immediately open his eyes, not until he was aware of a voice telling him too, so he slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times as the face above his came into focus and he couldn't help but smile at Jeremy as he met his eyes, he felt pain in his back and a slight thumping in his head, but taking stock Yevheniy didn't think he was too badly hurt. The twenty-year old stay laying on the floor, "You win," he told him, a strange look of pride washing over Yev's features at the statement, he was definitely proud of Jeremy and the fight he'd put in, there was no more a tone of purposely egging Jeremy, his usual tone in the thick accent returning. The man moved to sit up and his breath hitched slightly as the pain in his back poked it's head sharply, but he didn't stop sitting up, he didn't take his eyes off Jeremy. He knew that perhaps he needed to apologise, Jeremy's face certainly didn't look like he'd much enjoyed that fight in the same way Yevheniy had, "I thought it would be more fun, if it was real fight, when we began I felt like we were young children fighting our first duel," he admitted with a small sigh, finally looking away at the ground between them, he felt bad for having enjoyed it, for not having ended it when he could've considering what had followed, "I guess we have different idea of what is fun when it comes to duelling," Yevheniy shrugged a little, knowing he couldn't go into any other details and that hopefully Jeremy would just let that go, chalk it up to whatever Yev did in the spare time he had that didn't involve Jeremy or alcohol.
​

 

[Jeremy Thorne]

It took Jeremy a few moments to realize what Yehveniy was saying. Won what?, he thought to himself, the words on his lips when he finally figured it out. The Healer's lips twitched, a smile almost there, but he didn't allow himself to do it. As Yev began to sit up, Jeremy sat back and watched, the Healer in him assessing the man's injuries as he moved while trying to figure out his own. He knew that he could have helped Yev and make the job easier for him, but there didn't seem to be any serious injuries and he didn't mind leaving the man in discomfort for a few moments longer. Jeremy's knees were up in front of him and he retired to rest his elbows on his knees. He let out a soft hiss as his elbow met his knee and just put his hand on the floor instead.

The Healer looked away from the man as he listened. There were puddles of water in the corner from the Aguamenti spell and debris all over the place. The Healer turned sharply towards Yev. Fun? Jeremy was seriously beginning to question a lot of things about Yev. He'd always found Yev's stories cute, but now that he'd gotten a glimpse of what it was to be on the receiving end in one of those stories, he was less amused. "Yea, I guess we do" Jeremy replied in a curt tone. The man tried to push off the ground to stand up. He was ready to get out of the room, but a sharp pain stopped him. After a moment, he moved again and finally stood up. "I need a drink" the man murmured. He was looking forward to getting home where he had a private supply of pain potions. Jeremy stood staring at the guy for a minute before holding his hand out. "This wasn't how I pictured my day off going, Yehveniy" Jeremy stated. "Why do you insist on pushing me to fight, to be brutal, to be angry? I'm sorry. It's not me. I don't find it fun to see you or myself like this" he added. It was something that Jeremy hadn't figured out until just after the duel had finished. It was like Yev was pushing Jeremy towards some goal that he had in mind for the Healer, one filled with violence. That just wasn't Jeremy.

 

[Yevheniy Kharchenko]

The small hiss which came from Jeremy alerted Yev to the fact that perhaps the other man was a little more injured, after all, Yevheniy had cast a few of the more....violent spells, but he hadn't ever been bothered by seeing someone else get hurt, most of his friends the ones outside of the elementalists didn't mind getting hurt, too self interested to care about him and he showed them the same amount of interest which was clearly not the same with Jeremy, he just heard the mans response and just nodded a little brushing himself off, "I need a drink," Yev muttered in Ukrainian as he then noticed the other man's hand and gladly took it to help himself up, then proceeding to pick up his wand and pocket it, putting it away. Yevheniy was beginning to realise perhaps his mistake in pushing Jeremy, the young man was always pushing people, his entire school career was filled with instances of egging people on so that they would fight him more brutally, it was to him actually quite fun and most didn't mind the game but it was clear Jeremy did, the man was older than him, even if Jeremy didn't really know how much older he was and perhaps this was just a clear difference between their two ages.

At his words Yev shrugged, "You were fighting lightly," he began although perhaps not the best way of explaining his thinking, Jeremy in Yevheniy's mind had no idea of the sort of dark shadows which Yev knew all too well, given his role within them, "If this was real duel, in real fight, you might've been killed," he told him with what was almost a tone of caring, Yev ran a hand through his hair pulling slightly at the blonde strands with a heavy sigh, "Being a healer is all good and well, you like to help people I get it, you don't like hurting people but the world isn't sunshine and daisies," he felt himself getting frustrated and knew this was perhaps the wrong time to be talking to him about it, this was the wrong time to be pushing it, "You say you won't go easy on me and then when you started it was easy, those were simple boring spells and I thought it best to bring out of you what you are very capable of doing," he continued, "It is not bad thing to be able to correctly defend yourself, not bad thing to make it real fun or enjoy it," he stopped knowing that he was going to make this worse, Yevheniy like fighting and he like violent difficult fights that he didn't always win, he like drinking and bars and he enjoyed his time with the elementalists just learning and fighting along side them. He knew he'd never sway Jeremy to enjoying fights like he did, or likely ever being in a duel with him again, but he did feel this strange need to make sure that Jeremy could defend himself well, to be able to fight, "Look, now you know how to defend yourself, you know you are capable," Yev finished with a heavy sigh, keeping his gaze on Jeremy for a few seconds before heading for the exit and his belongings figuring that Jeremy likely would go home to heal himself alone and Yev already had his plan to go find some bar and drink this day away and have fun like he always did.
​

 

[Jeremy Thorne]

It was a funny way to show that he cared, but for a second, Jeremy was convinced that was part of why he’d attacked and pushed Jeremy to be harsher during the duel. The healer couldn’t figure out why he felt the need to do it this way. Sure, their relationship was casual, but it wasn’t like Jeremy was going to freak out if Yehveniy told him that he cared about him. Maybe he’s the one freaking out, Jeremy reasoned with himself. If that was the case, it put a whole new light on the situation. Jeremy had done that sort of thing before, pushing people away while he tried to figure out his own life. Jeremy was just about to say something to that effect, to say he understood, when Yev continued. The Healer felt himself bristle at being told that the world wasn’t ‘sunshine and daisies.’ Jeremy wasn’t a little kid who needed to know that there were bad things in the world. He’d grown up hearing stories from his father, an Auror who seemed to take increasingly dangerous cases as his marriage crumbled. He saw people come into St. Mungo’s every day under the influence of a hex or curse inflicted by some dark wizard or attacked by werewolves and other magical creatures. In the emergency areas, Jeremy dealt with many of the things that made the world seem less filled with sunshine. So, he didn’t need to be told any of that.

As Jeremy and Yehveniy locked eyes, the healer was speechless for a second. It was like he was looking into the eyes of a stranger, like they barely even knew each other. Jeremy watched Yev walk away from him before stalking after him just after he’d exited the room. Behind him, he could hear the room’s magic at work, setting the room back to rights for the next people who wanted to duel. Reaching the area where they’d placed their belongings, Jeremy marched up to Yehveniy. “You don’t get to walk away from me” he stated angrily. It was he who should be the one walking away. He was the one who’d been slighted the entire duel, the one whose fun day off had been disrupted. “Listen to me. I don’t need you to help me figure out that I’m capable of defending myself. I grew up with an Auror dad who made it his mission to do just that” he began as he angrily stuffed things into his bag. While the man had been happy that his son had been a Ravenclaw and had book smarts, he’d always pushed Jeremy to have more than just that. The healer put the bag onto his back and stood up straight. “There are probably a million different ways for you to have shown that you gave a damn, Yev. You picked a really bad one” Jeremy finished, staring at the man for one moment before he began to walk away so he could apparate home.