(no subject)

[bullfightposter.livejournal.com]

Time: August 15, 2000
Status: Open to spectators or joiners in
Setting: The manor lawn
Summary: Brian teaches the way of the rugger


Brian was excited-- for several reasons. The main one just now was that he got to share his passion with a friend-- the passion for tossing an odly shaped ball around, running after it, and knocking people right over. ...and making a human shield turtle and ramming the other team, only they didn't have nearly enough people for a scrum right now.

He'd dragged Adam out onto the front lawn, and waved madly at Shadow to join them-- he'd love to use Shadow as a tackling dummy. The big ones were always the hardest-- and the most satisfying.

"C'mon, Adam, c'mon! It'll be great! It's loads of fun. Oh, one thing, you can't throw the ball forward. Or touch it if you're in front of it."

The ways of rugby are arcane and violent.

Comments

[bullfightposter.livejournal.com]

"Well, yeah. But then you have to get up and out of the tackle so you can run up behind THEM. They might need help in another few seconds."

Brian noticed the aversion. ...Adam, in anything like a real game, would probably be a scrum-half, he decided. Rarely got tackled, and directed where the ball went. He wondered how much more time he could take up by explaining that.

[average-adam.livejournal.com]

Adam started laughing heartily. Really, what an absurd game. If you were going to be random, why not just make something up?

"And you keep fallin' down and gettin' up for an hour and a half? Tell me again why you like this, Bri?" But his eyes were twinkling. He suspected he knew part of the reason...

[bullfightposter.livejournal.com]

"Cos it's FUN. Besides, I'm not one of the ones who usually gets tackled. I am a forward, and I tackle," Brian said proudly. "Only there's not enough people to teach you that, so I'm teaching you how to pass."

Despite what he'd told Wens, he had pure motivations for playing rugby. Really, when you were in the midst of the scrum, you weren't worrying about touching other men, you were worrying about Pushing Those Bastards Off The Ball, Men! If he'd only been about it for the men in the short shorts, he'd just watch.

"It's wonderful, Adam. Really great stuff. Works off so much energy, and when you've been butting shoulders with a bunch of other big bastards for eighty minutes you really feel at peace with the world. Keeps me in shape, too, eh?"

[average-adam.livejournal.com]

"You just don't want me to know how to tackle," mock-pouted Adam. "'Fraid I'd be better at it than you?" He grinned. Despite his complaints, he really was having a good time. Even if he'd never understand why your team was supposed to be better than the other team.

"Can't say it's bad exercise, though. An' I bet you sleep real good at night bein' all tired."

[bullfightposter.livejournal.com]

"Eat like a bear, too," Brian confirmed. "S'great."

He popped his knuckles. "Sure," he said brightly. "I'll teach you to tackle. The secret's all in tackling low with plenty of force. My first coach told us to 'aim for the ankles.' You ain't gonna be knocking over your average forward just by hitting them in the stomach."

[average-adam.livejournal.com]

Adam chuckled. No wonder Wensley said they were going through more food lately.

"Aim for the ankles. Okay. Think this'll work on Pep?" He looked mischievous.

[bullfightposter.livejournal.com]

"...er, not unless you want a kick in the face, it won't," Brian said, looking queasy just contemplating it. "Or a kick a bit lower, if you high tackle."

Owch.

"Want me to show you a tackle on Shadow?"

[average-adam.livejournal.com]

Adam looked skeptical. "You can knock over Shadow? All right..."

Thinking back, though, it was really no surprise that Brian had turned out to be so good at this game. He was always tackling Them as children. Now it was just official.

[bullfightposter.livejournal.com]

"Shadow?" Brian smiled gratefully at the bigger man. He'd been putting up with quite a bit. "Could you walk past me, please? Just start there..."

Now Shadow was walking towards and past him, and he stepped forward into it-- dropped low, bending his knees, and sprang forward. He grabbed Shadow around the legs, just at the knee, wrapped his arms tightly together and pulled tight so that Shadow's lower legs were pulled together.

The big man had a great sense of balance, and managed to stay up for a bit, but eventually he toppled gently-- landing very well, actually.

"Doesn't matter how big they are," Brian said, giving Shadow a hand off the ground and sincere 'thanks!'. "If you can lock their legs together like that, they'll go down. Takes practice, though. ...and I couldn't take him by tackling at the thighs, or the chest."

Smile.

"You wanna try on me?"