Training Day at Midnight Meadow (Zorolo)

[Wisp Quill]

(OoC: The black color means that Elea's 'demon sister' is talking/thinking. Elea tends to use 'me' and 'we' interchangeably and so on. This is taking place about six days after my Rp with Mr.Man.)

BiC: A child had wandered into a meadow, which was guarded by tall oak and pine trees, whose leaves formed an unbreakable fence in the sky. It just seemed like that though, until a gentle breeze blew by. The bushes that dotted the space in between the trees held thorns, but there were broken branches along a worn path through them.

Elea’s head was a good eight inches from the tips of the silvery grass that made up the meadows ground. Her gray jacket and blue jeans had some small tears from the thorns, but she was uninjured. The Union noticed some trees that had broke away from their siblings, about five of them, which where nearly ten feet apart.

The child yawned slightly, and watched the moon continue to rise. She had to sleep during the day for a while, so this did not affect Elea much. Luckily, the moonlight from the waning moon was bright enough to see by.

Why have we decided to sleep during the day again?

I wanted to see how everything looked at night, you should know that, we’re connected.

It does look interesting, but it’s kind of an odd reason, sister.

The silver ocean of grass parted then sprung back as the Union approached the closest oak tree and looked up at the staggered branches. One hung low enough to be grabbed, which the novice swords-girl took. She broke off two leafy twigs on it, then swung it around for a bit and nodded happily.

The stick was about two feet long and almost an inch and a half in diameter. It felt heavy in the child’s hand. Hm, maybe I could keep it…

Of course you can, it’s a stick.

I meant that like it won’t break if I hit something with it. It could be our weapon.

Sister! It’s a stick, it’s going to break!

“You don’t have to yell…” Elea moved away from the tree and stood in between three other oak trees. She held it up at an angle, then began to swing it around.

The child began to guard against an invisible attacker, jumping back from a ghostly stab, then sweeping it from right to left with a small war-cry. She stepped forwards, and began to push forwards like she was in a sword lock.

Elea laughed as the ‘fight’ ended with her ‘sword ‘ held in a manner that looked like she placed the tip to someone’s throat.

It does not work without a person.

I know, sister, Dad did this, but he did this quickly.

The child sighed, then started to practice her sword swings and stabs.

[Zorolo]

How long had it been? A long time? A short time? A day? A month? A year?

To be honest, he had lost sense of time during his training here. The bounty hunter had spent since he had arrived here training intensely to keep himself busy. It was hard work, he made sure it was, and his body ached, however, he felt his strength growing a little bit with each day that passed. The mercenary looked at the tree he had spent the last while he had been there training against. The tree's bark and been stripped by intensive strikes over parts of the tree as he had continued his intense training. It was nearly over and the mercenary had planned to return the day after this day, tomorrow, if you will, and begin his track towards home.

The dark clad man rushed forwards and spun quickly, slamming his right shin into the trunk of the tree, cracking the wood of the tree as his shin slammed with an almost thunder clap. Monroe spun quickly and slammed his calve against the other side of the tree, causing the cracks in the tree be unstable as the modern fencer's feet slid along the ground. With a powerful punch, the dark clad man shattered the tree and caused it to fall over, leaving a powerful crash as it struck the ground.

Blood dripped from the bounty hunter's fist as he looked at the tree and turned around to begin heading home. He'd finished his training to shatter that tree, but now he had to return to his job. The mercenary began his march towards the Dome, intent on returning to his duties that he'd left for... however long he had been gone for.

As the dark clad man moved through the forest silently, he heard the sound of training filled his ears. The mercenary looked at a young woman training herself with a wooden stick, almost like a sword. The bounty hunter shattered a stick from a tree and leapt down, landing next to the girl and smiling at her as he rested the stick on his shoulder and then pointed the tip of his branch at the ground. "Hey, you're pretty good, but you need some tweaking in your technique. What do you say you let me help you?" the fighter asked with a smile. This had potential to be fun.

[Wisp Quill]

(OoC: Short but it works.)

Elea turned to her left quickly and saw a person standing next to her. She wanted the scream in fear due to how fast this man had appeared near her.

The Union turned and faced the man, backing up while staring at him. Due to the moonlight, he just had a pale head and hands coming from nowhere, until she realized he was dressed in a dark outfit.

"Hey, you're pretty good, but you need some tweaking in your technique. What do you say you let me help you?"

She heard him say that earlier, but she was a little frightened to respond, “Uh, I guess…” The child felt her arm twitch, her sister might want to come out. Sister, I don’t want you to come out now, ok?

Fine, but I would like to. Maybe we could scare him?

Sister! He does not look like he could scare easily!

Elea’s mouth slightly moved between this conversation then stopped, and then her face appeared to be annoyed for a minute, but it faded away. She took a stance the child learned from her father.

She stood with her left side facing the man, and her arm up. Her ‘sword’ was held with the tip pointing at him, it was nearly horizontal. Elea pulled her sword arm back, like how someone would pull back on a bow.

The Union took a small breath and readied herself. He might be like Dad…

[Zorolo]

Monroe smiled as he held his arm out to full length, the tip of his stick was ready to act as a sword would. Monroe shook out his right hand as he held his 'sword' firmly in his left. He examined the girl with some level of boredom, but he figured a game of warrior for fun could be enjoyable. Anyway, it was something Zorlo would do too. The stick swished back and forth as the dark clad man loosened his wrist and began to allow the sword to sway, readying to make his move.

The mercenary made the first move, lunging forwards and the girl narrowly sidestepped the move and stumbled sideways as he looked at him. Monroe smiled as took a step back of his own. "You're pretty new to fighting and training and that kind of thing, aren't you?" he asked her with a smile as he rested his stick on his shoulder and swung it swiftly horizontally, holding the weapon extended fully again. "Now then, demonstrate some of your knowledge to me," Monroe said with a smile as he nodded at her.

[Wisp Quill]

He is right about my inexperience. The child looked up at the man as he smiled at her. Fine, it’s not much though…

Elea began her attack with a simple side slash, which the man easily stopped. She then tried to stab, the man just side-stepped to the left. Her ‘sword’ handle sharply jutted back in a jab to his right side, as she spun around to face him again.

The Union now held the stick with two hands, and began to swipe at the dark-clothed man. The child’s hands barely poked out of the sleeves on her gray jacket, which swayed with her strikes. Elea stepped back a bit, her gray eyes locked on the man and his ‘sword’.

The swords-girl let her stick change to her right hand and charged, but stepped to the left with a stab at the last minute. The man swung in an angled side slash, which knocked her stab away. The Union stepped back again, her eyes began to flicker with annoyance, but it quickly stopped. I’m a little surprised I can do this, because Dad never really got around to teaching me stuff like this. I’m just thinking here.

A strand of the child’s white hair fell onto her face as she crouched low, then came at the dark-clothed man again, and took a swipe at his legs. He just jumped before her attack even came close to his legs. The Union stood upright and turned to the side, her left arm horizontal, and tried to charge again. As the child got close, she turned, leading a side swipe, but it was blocked.

Elea jumped back then kept backing up for a bit. Her ‘sword’ has held with two hands, pointing at an angle at him. The child looked like she wanted to continue, but there was a twinge of fear in her eyes. The Union muttered, “Yep, just like Dad.”

[Zorolo]

"Just like dad, eh?" Monroe asked himself quietly after having heard what she said, even if just barely, and left his arm completely outstretched as he stepped forwards and began swashbuckling. A long right horizontal slash moved quickly, and the girl blocked the weapon with hers, but was knocked a bit back. A side slash coming across from the opposite direction of his last attack followed his first, and the girl blocked it being pushed back a bit by the attack and stumbling a bit.

The bounty hunter outstretched his arm again and waved on the girl to attack. She had some knowledge of one handed weapon fighting, and a little of two handed fighting. Monroe never needed more than one hand in a fight, but there were probably people in the world that needed to use two handed to overcome their foe. Still, aside from Zachary, who needed two hands to use his sword, the mercenary hadn't seen too many people fight with two hands. Most of the time, it was two swords or something inane like that.

The idea of two weapon fighting was something that Monroe didn't really like too much either. Fighting with two blades never held much appeal unless one was shorter and for almost purely defensive purposes, which people didn't tend to do. Using two full length swords, if nothing else, made you a nice open target if you missed. That was what Monroe noted about it, more than anything, as he absentmindedly blocked the girls savage and quick slashes.

The girl threw strike after strike wildly and the bounty hunter merely moved his body and sword defensively to stop each attack from reaching him. "You're pretty good. A little practice, and you could be pretty good... but..." Monroe said as he blocked her 'sword' and caused a blade lock. "You're still young, so you've got time," he stated as he pushed forwards, throwing the girl back and sending her weapon into the air.

The stick spun through the air wildly and landed tip down in the ground. The mercenary pulled the weapon from the ground and pointed it at the girl as she looked up at him from her back. He smiled at her and spun the weapon around in his hand, offering her the part she had been using as a handle. "Let's continue. I'll teach you a few things," he told her with a smile.

[Wisp Quill]

(OoC: I don't want this fight to end, I just decided to let Elea's sister come out for a bit.)

Elea got up and took her ‘sword’ back cautiously. She nodded in agreement, but her left hand twitched. She heard her sister sigh in her head.

Can I come out? I want to try fighting him together, sister.

No, I don’t want to risk it…

You’re too cautious.

There’s a reason why, and you know it.

The child shook her head for a second and looked up at the man. She changed her stance to her right side facing him, the ‘sword’ held at an upright angle. The Union shuddered, as if she was cold all of a sudden. Her sister had decided to come out anyway…

The ‘demon’ turned her half of the child’s head to face the man. The black slits in her eyes widened a bit. “Don’t be shocked by me, mister, I’ve always been with my sister. I just want to try to fight with her, if you don’t mind?” The ‘demon’ half grinned, as her sibling began to respond.

“Sister, you shouldn’t be out…” The human half turned to face the slightly startled man, “I’m sorry that you had to see her, I didn’t want this to happen.”

The ‘demon’ sibling fell backwards and then vanished into the child’s back. It looked as if nothing was there anymore. Elea now looked more frightened now. “Do you want to continue with me?” She wanted to continue and learn more, but now she was somewhat stuck. Her sister probably made it so that this man might actually kill her. Which would be easy, since he is more experienced than she was.

“I’m just glad she decided to leave…” the child muttered. The Union was still holding her 'sword' up, and got ready to defend herself.

[Zorolo]

Monroe chuckled and walked up and patted the girl on the head. "Don't worry about it, I've seen more crazy stuff before," he stated as he stepped away and rested the stick on his shoulder. "Now then, I think that we should continue, and if your sister wants to take a swing at me, I'll train her a little bit too. So then, shall we go?" Monroe asked as he turned around and held his arms out, smiling. "Anyway, go!"

The bounty hunter wasted no time as he moved forwards, slashing his sword quickly at the young girl. His stick moved quickly, a bit more than before, and the girl moved quickly to guard each strike. Each hit pushed her back a little bit, but she managed to hang in fine on the defensive. The bounty hunter smiled and stepped forwards, swinging his sword in a wide arc. The girl ducked down to defend herself and the mercenary stopped his sword and inch from her.

"Don't be so afraid. I'm not gonna hurt you... much," he told her as he hit her lightly on the side of her head and stepped back. "Anyway, good defense, now then, show me what you've got," the bounty hunter told her as he spun his stick around his finger with a smile and stopped it in his normal stance, readying to see what the youth had in store next.

[Wisp Quill]

(Ooc: The 'demon' sister is in control now.)

The Union’s sister came out again and chuckled, Just let me have a chance with him, ok? She glanced to her left and nodded.

Elea lead the attack and swung her stick in a slash. As his sword came down vertically, the child’s left arm moved to block it. Actually her sister’s hand, which sat palm up on her own, grabbed it for a moment and pushed it away. The Union tried a stab, but his ‘sword’ came back and knocked it away.

The man swung from right to left, only to see the girl ‘run’ backwards, meaning her sister ran forwards. He charged the swords-girl, which she tried to block his swipe, but it knocked her to the ground. The ‘demon’ sister made her knees bend at an unnatural angle, reverse of a normal person’s knees, and stood up. She then took control of the child’s arms, and switched the stick to the sister’s right hand. “Pity that we have to do it like this. We‘re both right-handed.”

The snake-eyed sister now faced the man, “There’s no need to teach me any different. I’m the same person as my sister,” her left, clawed hand clenched into a fist for a minute. This time, Elea’s stance was low to the ground, but she could still defend.

The man came at her with a quick downwards-vertical slash. The child rose slightly, then slashed at it, which pushed it away barely. The Union grinned, the dark-clothed man recovered with another quick swipe. She jumped back, but quickly charged with a stab, then man responded with another slash and pushed the child back.

[Zorolo]

Very feral. She fights just like a wild beast does, only with a stick. Maybe like one of those smart monkeys than? I don't know, Monroe told himself as he moved backwards, taking blow for blow with the girl, guarding effectively and keeping a strong defense, which proved effective. The attacks where swift and strong, each coming quicker and quicker from all manner of angles. This warrior had a bit more skill than her counterpart, but only due to the wildness of her attacks and the strings of moves she made. Those facts alone made it hard to keep up easily.

The two struck their sticks fiercely and the bounty hunter stepped back, evading strikes, thrusts and slashes from the 'demon' who fiercely took the offensive. Monroe quickly moved forwards, dashing low to the ground, and forcing a sword lock, moving the two face to face. Monroe, using a slight bit more strength than he had thus far in the fight, and pushed the girl backwards. The woman quickly flipped over and landed, standing up and moving into his ready to strike stance.

"All right. This is getting better. Let's keep going. You're pretty tough," the bounty hunter stated with a smile. "Go, go, go!"

[Wisp Quill]

(OoC: This is getting fun! ^.^)

The Union’s demon half grinned, this was fun, at least for that half. The human side, however was a bit more cautious, which is why the child was stepping back often. It basically looked like Elea was fighting herself. These two needed to work together, and this ‘fight’ was helping.

The sword-girl’s ‘demon’ sister charged with another slash at the man, but came back with a jab from the end of the ‘sword’. The attack was stopped by a downward swipe, and the man pushed her back. The human sister was now facing the dark-clothed man, and turned her other half’s sword arm around. Unfortunately this was her side’s left hand, and her arms now looked strange.

The right arm was now bending backwards and the left was normal, until she swiveled the right arm around. Elea blocked an oncoming swipe with her stick, but had to step back. That arm was the human half’s weak arm. The Union passed the ’sword’ to her right, the demon sister’s left, hand.

The child’s grey eyes showed her cautiousness, but changed to a focused stare. She took up an angled side stance, with her left side leading. Elea swiped from left to right, and it was blocked with a reverse slash from the man.

Come on sister, don’t hold back. This is fun!

What if he had a real sword?

I know it’s important to be cautious, but still…

The sword-girl gave in to her sister and began to smile a bit. When she stabbed forwards, and when he side-stepped it, she immediately went with a left to right slash. Of course, he blocked it, but Elea kind of pushed forwards. The man knocked her back, and followed it with a downward-vertical slash.

The Union side-stepped then leapt back. The man tried to slash at her, but hit the trunk of an oak tree. The child went around it, and lashed out with a stab. The dark-clothed man slashed and knocked her ‘sword’ out of her hand.

The child jumped back and took her earlier side stance, but held her hands up to block a vertical slash.

[Zorolo]

Monroe stopped his sword mid strike and stood, smiling. "Get your sword, young one. I'm not about to strike an unarmed foe," the dark clad man told her as he stepped back, resting the stick on his shoulder and starting to walk away. Quickly, the instructor slid to the side and turned to look at the girl as she rolled towards her weapon and took the stick up, brandishing it readily. "Now then, it's time for me to teach you one last thing," he told her as he placed one foot against a tree trunk.

"The true power of a sword does not belong solely to how hard it is swung or to how skillfully it is used, but to the state of mind you're in when you swing your weapon. I, personally, don't much believe this crock, but Z tells it to me and my compatriot, so I can't readily ignore it. Still, Z says that if your mind is clear of all burdens, than your blade will strike true and powerfully. If you burden yourself with things such as thoughts of stuff that aren't in the battle, your sword will become a burden instead of a liberator... or something like that."

The bounty hunter took a step back from the tree and smiled. "You see, I'm sure that this stick can't cut a tree in half, but if it were a real sword, I'd tell you to try to cut down this tree. What do you say? Feel like a real test of your skills. You need a sword. A real sword. After we find you one, why don't we refocus you into learning some of the real hard work. What do you say?" he asked as he looked back at the girl and stabbed the stick he had been wielding into the ground.

OoC: For now, let's put a break on this fight and find your character a sword so Monroe can begin teaching her how to really fight under circumstances and such, ya know. ^_^

[Wisp Quill]

(OoC: I don't know how to close this. Really short.)

Elea looked at the man as he was talking, her sister decided to talk after he was done. With us like this, the whole ‘clear mind’ thing will be hard…

We have to work together then, maybe we can do it.

You’re right, but it’ll be tough…

Stop doubting, it won’t work if we think like this. It’ll stop me.

Right.

Her sister grinned slightly, then fell back, vanishing. The child looked normal now, despite three hair colors, white in the front leading to gray in the center and ending in black. “ I understand,” the Union nodded, “ Ok. The only thing I can do is try…”

The young swords-girl grinned and looked at the man in black.

“Alright, follow me.” He began to walk into the forest, Elea following behind him.

“Where are we going, sir?”

The man laughed slightly, “My name’s Monroe, and we’re going to someplace where I can help you learn better. What‘s your name?”

“It’s Elea.”

“Your sister doesn’t have a name?” Monroe asked.

“My name is hers as well.”

“Interesting,” the dark-clothed man and the child came began to see another meadow amidst the trees.