Fighting the Hound part-1

"White-haired one, I'd like to speak to you."

Looking over, Jason realized that it was Prince Joffery who spoke to him. The prince approached with the Hound following close behind, his unique helmet under one arm. With it off his scarred face was more exposed, showing just how disfiguring the burn scars were.

"Your grace. What is it you want?" Jason asked, in a formal if blunt manner.

"Just curious to meet the man who slew a dozen Wildlings. When we got the raven, the whole caravan was gossiping about the white-haired man with a sword." The boy looked over Jason, seeing the scars and nodding. "Sure have the look of a killer about you." A short pause followed. "So what is your name anyway?"

"Jason Black. As for why I killed them, it was in self-defence. Didn't know or care who they were at the moment." The Surgebinder calmly stated.

"Heh…seems like an excuse to me. Their savages after all and deserved to be cut down." Joffery looked to the Hound now as he continued to speak. "Ever fight a Wildling before? Heard you could gut one and they'd keep fighting."

"Can't say I know sire. Everyone else normally drops at that point." The gruff man muttered.

Joffrey looked back at Jason, a sly yet cruel hint in those eyes. "So Hound. What do you think of Jason here? Think you could best him?"

Sandor and Jason looked at each other, both already sizing up each other. "Can't say for sure until I see what he can do. Considering the skin I'd say he hasn't been any battles."

Joffrey thought for a moment, pacing slightly between the two men. "Hmm…it will be a while until the feast. We have two good warriors here." A smile crept across his lips before looking to the nearby sparring ring. "A fight then! That be an interesting show for everyone right?"

The nearby servants and guards would pause at their work, muttering in curious interest. Already Jason had a bad feeling about this. This young prince had an eagerness about seeing a fight.

"Not sure if it is wise to do so." Jason started before the prince spoke up.

"It wouldn't be wise to refuse me, Jason." The boy remarked sternly. "The road has been boring and a duel bit thrilling to see." Already Joffrey nodded to Sandor to follow him to the ring, along with some of the servants and guards gathering up.

Jason sighed as he'd follow along, already fiddling with his strapped blade on his back. However, once again Joffrey spoke up. He needed to this little cunt a lesson.

"No need for that Jason. I thought real men duel with real blades, not blunt pieces of iron." The prince remarked with a smug look.

"Of course…" The Surgebinder muttered as the Hound set his helmet back onto his head before drawing his quite bastard sword from its sheath. He'd move to draw his steel blade before pacing into the sparring circle, staring down the armoured man.

"Try to make this entertaining." The Hound gruffly muttered before closing his helmet. "If anything I can do with a challenge." The large man's stance shifted as he grasped his sword with both hands, a very aggressive poise.

Jason kept silent, as he'd shift his blade to that low angle, yet gripped it with both hands. He felt the Hound have much more power behind his attacks and require more effort to guard against. For a long moment, the two stared down each other, no doubt waiting for the other to make their first move. Everyone was silent yet Joffrey was quickly getting annoyed from the lack of action.

Yet just as the prince was about to speak, the Hound gave a fierce yell and charged Jason, moving shockingly fast for a man his size. Lucky Jason wasn't a normal man as his honed reflexes kicked in, as his sword moved up to block the powerful overhead blow, giving a low grunt from the effort. Both pulled their weapons back, feet shifting as they moved to circle each other before Jason lunged in for a stab. Sandor twisted his blade to block the attack, yet had one hand let go of his blade to lash out with an armoured backhand attack. Jason was fast enough to turn his head, the iron fist just grazing the left side of his face. If he were a normal man, Jason knew such a blow from the Hound would have broken his jaw and sent teeth flying. At best the blow would stun him and leave a decent mark, giving the towering man the chance to land some potentially seriously hits.

Yet the Surgebinder also took advantage of the close quarters as he'd jab his left fist right into Sandor's side, targeting the less armoured section at the hip. While he couldn't see the Hound's face under his helmet, the shocked and pained grunt showed the blow hurt, considering the surprising strength Jason had. The man staggered back, left hand gripping the spot while Jason winced as he flexed his hand, bloodied slightly from hitting chain metal. However, he recovered faster as he'd grasp his blade two-handed once more, stepping up as he raised his steel sword overhead. Sandor got his second wind, only giving himself enough time to brace his blade for the powerful strike Jason dealt.

For the Hound, he could tell Jason was strong, yet the force of that blow had even the tall man be forced a step back. The Surgebinder kept up the attack, swinging upward with the same power behind the strike while Sandor was forced to back again. The loud clang of metal was constant in the yard, almost overwhelming the cheering of the gathered crowd. Joffrey was quite active, yelling out orders to the Hound and encouraging him on.

"Damn it, hit him back!" The prince called out, making the Hound growl out as the tension of battle and the boy's ordering frustrated him.

In the end, he did hit back, yet with a strong kick right to Jason's gut instead of a sword strike. With his defences low, the strike was dead on, knocking the wind out of Jason. The force of the kick even knock him back onto one knee, the Surgebinder having to brace one hand to the ground to avoid falling over. Coughing and panting, he'd look up as the Hound roared before he'd strike down, his eyes having a pure look of bloodlust in them. Jason pulled his sword up, one hand bracing under his blade as the heavy clashed down against his.

"Bloody…stubborn bastard!" The Hound growled as he'd keep striking down at Jason with constant blows, not even giving Jason a chance to get up from his kneeling stance. In worse, the man mixed in short kicks right at the Surgebinder, trying to break his guard or knock him over even if it was a cheap tactic for a duel. He had to turn his stance just to have those armoured kicks strike at his shoulder instead of his face. At this point, people were muttering as Jason grunted and growled in pain, yet refused to yield while Joffrey seemed pleased at the sight. "If I have to beat you senseless to finish this I will!" Sandor snapped.