It was as second nature to the mare. As effortless as trance, or as calling shadow. Her blade was a true extension of her arm, a part of her, and she wielded it with the same sort of skill that was admired in the ashen soldiers of their clan. And were it not for that special something that set her aside as priestess, that would have been the path she walked down.
Even now, as elder, she still took her training seriously. Currently she faced a wooden dummy, though there was little left of what it had started a**. A stump of a body, it was missing the head, the arms, and there were large chunks hacked from the meat of the body.
Those pieces littered the ground at her feet, and more rained down to join them as she worked, slashing at her target.
It was something, at least, but nothing really could substitute a living opponent. The would have much preferred facing off against something living
and be blue
Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2014 11:55 pm
Ollie was out of practice, but that didn't steal away his natural grace and comfort of movement. across the way, he didn't face off against a dummy, as she did, but instead danced his way through an old routine, trying to get back some of his muscle memory. When someone came from this time, he would respond just so, his arm coming up in a sweep that looked slow but covered the space easily with knife, his head cocked just slightly to one side.
That was when he'd catch sight of Nergui at work, her target torn to pieces in a way that made him blink and lose his focus. Were any of his old teachers -- or his sister, for that matter -- around, they would tease him for the distraction, for how easily it pulled him from practice and over to watch her work.
Only when the dummy was well and truly destroyed did he pipe up. "You're a lot less boring than most."
Most what? Well. Priestesses, perhaps. Or maybe he meant girls.
Often times the mare fell into a focus that completely shut out the world around her, and now was no different. The voice behind her was startling, but at least this time her blade remained at her side, and did not snap up to press against the soldier's throat, as it had with Wrath. Though to be far, the older stallion had found the priestess under very different circumstances, and weighing problems of the past were no more.
Nergui turned to regard the speaker with a pleased smile, chin lifting proudly as the nudged one of the larger chunks of wood with the toe of her boot. "Thank you for noticing." She gave the saber a little twirl, then let it rest against her leg.
Petite, the priestess wasn't used to encountering those that were smaller than her, but this stallion--nay, colt--was. A look from head to toe took in the unique antlers, the dark skin, the youthful features. He was bright eyed, eager, and certainly not shy. Immediately endearing.
She also noticed the blades in his hands. Small, but versatile. They hinted at speed and agility.
"What's your name?" Because he wasn't familiar, and Nergui had been around long enough now to know, by sight at the very least, the members of their clan. When a new face arrived in their midst, she tended to notice.
and be blue
Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2014 7:00 pm
"Lala's Brother." There was a pause, as he said it, and then he smiled: a sudden twitch of a smile like he couldn't help it. Ollie was certainly not in the least bit shy, nor easily embarrassed, either. Not in this moment, at least. Everything he thought was as clear as everything he said.
"...Oliatos." And he didn't ask her to call him Ollie, at least. Not yet. He did have at least some respect for priestesses, a thought that made him fidget.
Dangerously endearing, Nergui decided upon seeing that smile.
"Lala's brother, Oliatos." She repeated the name back, smiling herself. "Is Lala short for something?" Another name she did not recognize, and if the younger brother was new, than perhaps the sister was as well.
"I'm Nergui." And she'd dip her head in respectful nod, because despite age or role, every member of Death deserved respect.
and be blue
Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2014 7:26 pm
"Is Nergui short for something?" He shot it back at her like it was a clever joke, complete with a flash of smile, even if it wasn't -- not that Ollie seemed to care. Instead his eyes were dropping back to her sword, and the mess at her feet, in a curious and blatant sort of way.
He'd stood still about long enough. Either she was going to teach him something, or Ollie was likely about to retreat off to make his own fun.
"No," and that soft smile grew into a grin, amused by the colt and his attempted humor. "But if can be shortened for the sake of convenience or preference."
At the obvious glance down her eyes dipped to follow his line of sight to the saber still in her hand and the wide spread of splinters and larger chucks of wood that littered the ground around her. When she looked up it was with a knowing smile, and she brought her blade up, stroked a pair of fingers feather light along the sharp edge. "Would you like to try your luck?"
She stepped away from the ruin of the dummy, into open ground.
and be blue
and be blue rolled 1 20-sided dice:
11Total: 11 (1-20)
Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2014 6:08 pm
"It's not luck." He was eyeing her warily as he said it, head cocked to the side, the gears turning behind his eyes. Lala would, probably, disapprove of engaging in combat with a priestess. It was likely on par with throwing candles in the temple. But, on the other hand, it looked to him like Nergui could more than hold her own.
Was there something wrong with getting your butt kicked by a priestess? He stepped absently in after her, still thinking about it.
"But we could try. I've been...it's been a while, since I had an opponent." An excuse, perhaps, for his upcoming failure. Not that Ollie seemed that self-aware.
When challenged by a priestess, it was perfectly acceptable to accept. Or so Nergui believed, in any case, though there were guardians that would disagree with her. One in particular came to mind.
"Then allow me to reintroduce you to armed combat." The priestess took up stance once they had but enough distance between themselves and the training dummies. One foot behind the other, blade up and at the ready, she offered a challenging smile.
and be blue
Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2014 4:34 pm
"...uh huh." He watched her, and maybe Ollie should have mimicked her pose to prepare himself -- but instead he shifted to his own, weight leaned toward his back foot and both arms up. Once upon a time, he had been getting good at this. He remembered some of it.
"Please put me back together again, after." This was surprisingly solemn. Not a joke, then.
At that request the priestess couldn't help but chuckle. "Certainly."
Then the mare was moving, all grace and agility as she closed the short distance between them. He hadn't requested she take it easy on him, and she had no intention of doing so unprompted. Even if young, he was still a soldier of Death, and she would treat him accordingly.
A flick of her wrist, and her grip on the saber shifted to lay the dark blade along her arm. It lent a little extra bite to her slash, that dark edge aimed to cross his chest at a downward angle from ribs to hip.
HP: 50 DMG: 7
and be blue
and be blue rolled 2 8-sided dice:
4, 5Total: 9 (2-16)
Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2014 2:44 pm
It stung in a way Ollie had completely forgotten, jarring across his senses, and perhaps that was why he didn't dance out of the way quite so quickly as usual: he brought his weapon up too late to block the blow, and when he responded, it was a surprisingly careful gesture. A jab and then away, a twist around, trying to get behind her. He was, certainly, out of practice, but beneath that was a definitely comfort in his body.
And a tendency toward fighting dirty, honestly. He had no urge to face off fairly one-to-one. He was small, and young, but sharp-eyed and fast, and if he could get behind her he'd be better off.
Of course, she was quick too...
There was no banter, now. He'd gone serious and focused, in a way that completely transformed him.
There wee times in combat where the mare was a crazed thing -- blood thirsty and vicious, more beast that beauty -- but there were times, such as now, where she moved with grace and precision. She felt the sting of the jab, a soft pain, ignorable, and concentrated on the young colt as he moved, trying to circle behind her.
He was a quick thing, to be sure, and the priestess could have matched that speed, but she made no apparent move to turn with him. She seemed, if anything, unconcerned, and the hand not wrapped around the worn hilt of her saber came up at her side.
With it came darkness. The shadow at her feet bent and morphed, elongating before stretching upward to form a barrier between herself and Ollie. Living and pulsing, it rose up to stretch far beyond their reach. Hazy and unreal, but shockingly solid.
T2 Barrier in effect!: 10/10 HP: 47 DMG: - Fear Used: The Barrier - Dark Wall
and be blue
and be blue rolled 3 4-sided dice:
1, 3, 3Total: 7 (3-12)
Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 7:39 pm
He could be all or nothing in his everyday life, but Ollie had the sense, during battle, to pause and assess. The gathering of shadows around Nergui read, to him, as a sign: one that made him still all at once, frowning just slightly, his head cocked to one side. He didn't know, right now, what they did. What they meant.
And so he didn't go for the offensive. Instead he drew a breath and reached out a hand of his own to tug at her shadows: trying to steal them and use thim for his own purposes.
He lacked the strength, something that cause a little knot between his eyebrows. Frustrated. But maybe she'd feel the pull all the same.
HP: 33/40 DMG: 0
beejoux
Shadow Veil
Tier Two:MND2 Dice: 3d4 First Dice: represents your Accuracy. xxxxx 1: Miss xxxxx 2-4: Success! Second Dice: represents your Modifier. xxxxx 1-2 means your opponent adds -1 to their modifier. If their modifier was -6, it is now -7! xxxxx 3-4 means your opponent adds -2 to their modifier. If their modifier was -6, it is now -8! Third Dice: xxxxx 1: affects your opponent's next turn xxxxx 2-4: affects your opponent's next two turns
She watched him out the corner of her eye as he paused, and the pleased smile slid along the priestess' lips. Not just a reckless colt, but sharp, cautious. No wonder he had risen to the rank of ashen soldier at such a young age, the boy showed great potential, and they'd barely started.
Of course the mare had been expecting an attack, so the singular hand that rose up to reach towards her shadow earned Ollie a thoughtful blink, then she felt his fingers close around that cool darkness, and silver brows shot up, shocked. He held dominion of shadow as well, in some way, and that wasn't something she happened across often. "You surprise me."
Half turning, she smiled down at him as he tried to pull her shadow -- to what effect, she wasn't sure, but he certainly made the effort, and that sort of effort should be rewarded, should it not. "If it's my shadow you want," she crooned, that raised hand drifting towards his own where it wrapped around darkness. "I'll give it to you."
It bowed to her will, collapsing back, shrinking, until that hazy darkness collected in fog like tendril around her arm and down her hand. She brushed the back of his knuckles where they hung in the air, and that shadow fog coiled forward, down his arm, into him.
