[The Quay] Crossing Blades (Talen)

[Nashira]

1 Fall, 511 AV Nashira was standing on a larger, relatively flat, grey, banded rock that lined the shore into Denval's harbor. Her feet were bare, resting against the smooth surface of the rock; awakened by the warmth that the sun had set into it, now that it had risen to its zenith, and been out for a relatively large portion of the day. Her long, white dress danced around her feet as the wind whistled all around her, enveloping her in its ethereal embrace before it hurried along to glide over the surface of the harbor. The skin her dress didn't cover shimmered in the golden rays cast by the sun, causing her to appear as though she were a gem amongst the rocks. The pink and gold pigmentation flashing against the grey, as the wind twirled her deep red hair, forcing it to swim around her face. It appeared as though she were on fire now, with the added affect of her twisted, golden horns peaking out from beneath the wavy mass. Her amber colored eyes fixated on Caleb's old sword, which she gripped tightly in her right hand. Her fingers curled around the hilt, her nails brushing lightly against the smooth skin of her palm. Nashira held the sword no more than seven inches in front of her slender form. It seemed to cut her body in half, as she raised her left hand and rested her palm against the lower portion of the blade. It was cold to the touch, the silver casting the light of the sun away, onto the nearby rocks, and several shells which lined the shore. She was steadying the blade with her left hand, as she took a deep breath in through the nose, and out through the mouth. Shira closed her eyes, "Syna, guide my blade," she whispered, before opening her eyes again and returning her left hand to her side, before thinking better of it, and placing the hand below her right, simply to assist in keeping the blade steady. She took another deep breath in through her nose, and out through her mouth, as she inched her right foot forward, allowing the left to trail behind. She was preparing her body for battle, even if it were only with the air. Air that taunted her with its touch, the way it caressed her skin and whistled, before moving on. "Here we go," Shira whispered, as she stepped forward, dipping the sword downwards and to the left, towards her hip, before lifting it upwards again. The sword shot towards the Ethaefal's right shoulder as she stepped forward with her left foot, and then swung her right foot around, so that it dropped behind the left. When her sword had sliced through the air as far as she could make it go, Shira swept it to the side, reaching past her left shoulder as though she were trying to decapitate one of her invisible foes. Just before her sword stopped moving, she swung her leading foot around, bringing the sword racing behind her as her long read hair swirled around her head, and her dress fluttered around her body. OOCPM me if you need me to change the date on this thread.

[Talen Stirling]

A peaceful, beautiful fall day. One in which he might find some solace and calm with normal duty doing normal tasks. Instead of being trapped on mysterious discs, fighting monsters and turning into one himself. That was Talen's plan for today, and he smiled to see how regular everything was on a solo patrol along the short Denval shore. The familiar cooling breeze blew in from the sea and pulled at loose clothing and weaponry. The shore was deserted, despite the sunlight the sea was cool and the wind blew dauntingly across the sands chasing away the idea of bathing, at least in warmth. Talen looked up and about, casually not expecting to find anything or anyone, only to see a figure pierced upon a rock a short distance away. He picked up his pace, curious to see who it was, armed and in a dress standing atop a cliff. The sun made it hard to recognise the features of the stranger, and as he approached he climbed onto the rock to avoid having to look up. He leaned his hand against the cliffside and laid his eyes upon the stranger, only to blink and stare in surprise, confusion, and then admiration. in this moment she was close to perfection. Luminiscent skin shone beneath her white dress, which made her fiery red hair seem all the more startlingly bright. Lithe feet danced beneath her gown, her tall and well built body moving gracefully as she practiced with a vast bastard sword that shone brightly in the sun. It seemed to compete with the glow of her skin, hair and dress in a display of radiant grace and bright beauty. Watching her move was captivating, and he took off his shield, resting it and his back against the cliffside as he looked at her training. He smiled lightly, and in silence enjoyed the serenity of the display 'till she took notice of him. Probably when she spun around to find him spying on her.

[Nashira]

Nashira could hear a gentle whistling glide across the surface of her ear as her body twisted. Wild strands of deep red hair drew across her face, splaying across her lips. The fire within it seemed to crackle as the waves of the sea crashed into the shore; the rocks that surrounded her. The wind whipped her belongings about, as her sword hissed as it came crashing through the air. Her feet felt so cold against the stone; at the joining of the elements. It sent tiny tremors up her spine, caused her arms to ache as she forced them to keep on moving. To keep on pressing the sword forward, into her imaginary foe. When her arms had been pushed as far as they would go, Nashira's sword came to a halt. It was tilted downwards slightly, towards a place on the rock not too far to the side of her body. Her body was in a slight crouch, her lips parted slightly as she forced herself to draw a fresh breath of salt-stained air into her lungs. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly, her heart hammering in her chest as she glanced outwards, into nothingness. An expanse of sand and rock, and a small portion of sea, that seemed to stretch on and on for quite some time. After dragging several breaths into her lungs, Nashira straightened her body out. She was certain someone was watching her, she could feel their eyes upon her flesh, forcing her to turn her head slightly to the right, and then the left. It was then that she found Talen, watching her from against the side of the cliff. Nashira sheathed her sword, but kept her right hand wrapped around the hilt. The sword fell back into place with a satisfying ring, as her eyes narrowed and settled upon his dirty blonde hair. "Hello!" Shira called out to him, her voice relatively neutral, although somewhat weak, as though she were still trying to catch her breath. Or perhaps, was being drowned out by the sound of the sea. "Enjoying the view?" she asked, with a playful grin, trying to draw him into her, simply so she could figure out what he was all about. "Just taking the day off? Working on your tan perhaps?" There was a slight pause, "or are you prepared to pretend that you're here on an errand? Trying to get a way from a pesky boss, perhaps?"

[Talen Stirling]

Talen's faint smile turned into a teasing grin as she spoke, provocative alongside the obvious hint of appreciation in his eyes as he looked her up and down briefly. All of this mirth and mischief was sudden, but felt natural when he was faced with a beautiful stranger with an imposing hand-and-a-half-sword. Either you smiled and charmed, or you panicked and ran. He wasn't the person to be scared by a pretty girl, and compared to what had happened only weeks before this was anything but intimidating. "Very much." The response to her first question was followed with a wolvish glance at the view in question. He stepped away from leaning against the cliff and a little closer, answering her questions only when she was completely finished talking. "I'm... Just taking a walk." Talen's smile receded to a more normal, friendly position. There was a twinkle of humour in his eyes though, and an obvious lie in what he had just said, for who took a walk along the beach with weapons and armour? He just didn't want to fit into her little boxes, was all it was. Truthfully, he was here on an errand, yet now that errand was definetely postponed in favour of something much more interesting.

[Nashira]

Nashira frowned. "Seems unlikely with everything you're carrying. Unless you intend on telling me everyone in this city carries a weapon whilst out on a simple stroll... you couldn't be one of the city guards then, out on patrol? Making sure everything is running smoothly, that no outsider has bothered to cross our borders." There was a slight pause as Nashira wiped the frown from her face, causing her features to become more neutral. She tilted her head slightly to the side, as though considering him further. Her eyes swept over his form once more, taking in the shape of his body, his skin, his muscles. How mature he seemed to be. He seemed young. Everyone in this city seemed young to her, it was a though they never aged. "If you are indeed, on patrol, then I must say, you're the worst city guard I've every laid my eyes upon," Nashira went on. "Lying down on the job instead of walking slowly up and down the bank, in step with a drummer's tune that plays in the back of your mind... or even your own heart beat." There was another slight pause, "uselessly walking until your muscles ache, and you wish you didn't have to carry your sword and shield any longer. Perhaps that's why you sit then, if you're on patrol. You can see the entire quay from there, can't you? Among other things..." she added, with a mischievous grin. Streamers of golden-colored sunlight broke off her horns, shooting in every which direction, as Nashira placed her free hand on her hip, and leaned into it a little. Shifting her weight as her eyes settled upon Talen's face. "Why don't you come a little closer? Give yourself a better look?" Nashira asked. "Perhaps we could... test that blade of yours against my own. See if you're worthy of your rank, so to speak." Assuming he really is a guard. He does seem a little young... but these Denvalis are a bit strange, Shira thought. Wouldn't put much of anything past them, her mind continued, as she flashed Talen one of her radiant smiles. "Perhaps then, if one of your superiors comes along to check on you, they will find you doing something productive. Training alongside someone who could surely give you a few pointers. Help improve your abilities... make you all the more capable of doing your job." Protect the city, in the name of Syna. The light she shines. In the name of her ability to show us the way... OOCI figured she'd either toy with the idea of you being a guard. You'd admit your position within the city... something. No matter, she just wants to tease you into getting her way... or rather, into being entertained.

[Talen Stirling]

"Admitted, that is who I am and what I am doing. Except, we love outsiders who cross our borders and welcome them with open arms." The smile he sent was amused, but that made what he said no less true. Denval welcomed all foreigners because they brought sorely needed new skill and blood to a community trapped to contend with only themselves for centuries. He'd learnt some of the consequences of their imprisonment the hard way. He looked at her with a questioning glance when she said he was the worst guard she'd ever seen, but soon shrugged as if he didn't know the answer to her theories about his way of work. "Gotta keep an eye out on strangers wavin' swords around." Her answer to that sent new ideas flying through the young man's mind, and he didn't hesitate to grab his shield and step closer. A confident, soft smile made it's way across his face as he met her stare. "Worthy? Perhaps.." He stepped closer, crossing to her right and eyeing her calculatively. Measuring her height, her muscle, her dress and what lay below it. "I am sure giving me a few pointers would be.. Enlightening." He raised his eyes sending her a brilliant smile, and stepped a few feet away. He would usually never do this, practice with sharp weapons with a stranger, and one without the armour to keep her safe. It was dangerous and foolish, but this knowledge was blinded by the light of Syna's servant. Drawing his sword he whispered his own prayer to Priskil that everything would go right. He put his arm within the leather strap and grabbed the wooden handle of the shield. "So, what will you teach me then, pretty lady?"

[Nashira]

"Yes, because we're all so very dangerous aren't we?" Nashira asked with a playful grin. "Especially when there's no one else around for us to slice in half..." Her eyes sparkled radiantly, as the stars did when surrounded by night's dark blanket. She hoped Talen was smart enough to understand that she was merely joking. Enjoying her ability to release her more playful side with someone who seemed somewhat lazy, and easy to toy with. As Talen took the time to study her, Nashira studied him. He was shorter than she, but only by a little. He seemed somewhat more muscular too, but that didn't surprise her, considering he was a man and they all seemed to be built that way. In a more muscular sense than women. His features seemed small, unscarred. He seemed so very young, those blue-grey eyes, seemingly hiding nothing. An open book, which appeared as though they held no pain. No glaze over the iris, nothing to indicate that he had endured a great deal of hardship within his life. Everything about his appearance caused Nashira to believe he was still young and vibrant. Filled to the brim with life, with hope, because he had yet to learn of the atrocities that took place within this world. It caused Shira to sigh as she pulled her sword from its scabbard. She pushed her right hand towards the top of the hilt. Curling all of her fingers around it, so that they pressed lightly into her palm when she could stretch them no further. The exception was her thumb, which was pointed upwards, following the length of the hilt, towards the blade. Slowly, Shira raised her left hand and placed it two inches below the right, on the hilt. She held her hand in much the same way. When Shira had finished getting her grip, she looked up, at Talen. Her eyes sparkled when she caught sight of the shield. Why is it that men never fight fair? she wondered, as she lifted her own sword, holding it directly in front of her. She eased the blade towards her flesh, pressing its side delicately onto her nose, squishing it a little, as it sent tiny, cool tremors coursing beneath her sparkling flesh. The sword was cutting her body in half, reflecting her flesh. Glinting in the light. Syna, guide my blade, the Ethaefal thought, as she gently lowered her sword, and pushed it against the top of Talen's shield. "How to fight without a child's toy," she replied, noting how it was crafted of wood. Not something heavy, and devoid of all life; metal. "How are you going to see everything you need to from behind that?" Shira asked with a devilish grin, as she continued to push down on the shield. "You'll be lucky to see more than my horns from atop that thing... put it down, level the playing field, boy." Shira's smile widened as she lifted the sword off the shield. She held it approximately seven inches in front of her form, dividing her body nearly in half. "And whenever you're ready, try to strike," she instructed.

[Talen Stirling]

A child's toy? What, did she think swordplay was a game where surdent objects were those of kids and cowards, as if there were rules to be upheld? That childish notion didn't amuse him when she dropped her demeaning comments. Reluctant as he was to let go of the one thing that would provide him a means of playing safe, he wouldn't let anyone, especially a woman, see him as a coward. Releasing the handle and sliding his hand through the leather strips, he grabbed the rim of the shield and threw it off the small rock they were standing atop. It landed with a dull thud in the sand. He raised his longsword into a standard position with the hilt around his midsection and the blade pointing upwards and slightly forward. The vicious, dangerous beauty of his opponent didn't slip past his notice as he took a moment to measure how to attack. He didn't smile arrogantly, nor did he look as focused as he truly was. Instructing him, teasing him, either she was underestimating or taunting him. Which of the two he would find out soon enough. "Ready, girl?" A cocky grin had spread across his lips as he attacked, and all masks of hesitation and weakness were removed. He stepped forward and raised the blade up and to the right, swinging down towards her from the high right in a fluid, vicious blow. The movements of his arm started at the elbows, and his steps were short, precise and balanced. The blow would be simple to parry, but what about the boy's followup?

[Nashira]

Nashira's eyes glimmered. "Was ready a while ago, unlike you," she replied, her voice cold. Spilling out, past her lips in a gentle hiss. They seemed to hover in the thick air that hung between each of them, as her muscles continued to clench and unclench. Tighten and untighten, as they coiled themselves into tight balls, which rippled beneath her shimmering flesh. She was more than ready to spring for him, but allowed Talen to make the first move. The Ethaefal was not surprised by how the boy moved, how he seemed to slow himself, as though to take the time to test her ability. The same as she may have done, before finding a way to draw the fight out. Before slaughtering him, of course. As Talen swung his sword, Nashira took a half a step back. She lowered her right hand clockwise, downwards and to the right, while she turned the left hand upwards and towards the left. The sword shifted with her hands, turning onto its side, so that it ran diagonally across her chest. The Ethaefal tilted it towards her a little bit, so as to brace herself, and help block the oncoming attack from Talen. It did not take long for their two blades to meet, producing a loud, metallic clack, which seemed to ripple across the surface of the water, as the waves crashed into the shore. "Nice try love," Shira commented, "but you'll have to do better than that," she finished, as she pushed upwards on her sword, trying to draw his upwards and away from her body, as she took a step back. Simply in the hopes to buy herself another moment to think. What will he try next? Shira wondered. Something just as easily blocked? Or something a little more... rough? A little more serious? There was a slight pause, has he moved on from his test period? she wondered, as her eyes sparkled in the sunlight, as her skin glowed in its radiance. If Talen took more than a few seconds to attack her, Nashira would spring forward, bringing the sword upwards and towards her right. When she had raised it as far as it would go, she'd turn the blade so that the metal sides of the sword would have been tilted towards Talen, and not herself. At that point, she'd bring the sword inwards, as rapidly as she could, in an attempt to decapitate her opponent. OOCForgive me, my combat posts tend to be rather short.

[Talen Stirling]

She moved backwards, golden limbs tensing up as she parried his blow and he hesitated. Not a hesitation as in he stood and stared, but instead of the quick and decisive followup he stepped back and to the left, spun the blade and struck a plain and obvious blow from below. He didn't have the spirit. The realisation hit him as he pulled back and cascaded his opponent with a series of light blows that never veered out of their path or held any force to be reckoned with. He still moved quickly, controlled and safely but he didn't make any attempts at getting past her parries but rather simply let her relax in a comfortable position. His opponent seemed ... Competent. It was hard to tell, and his eyes rested on the positioning of her arms and legs in an attempt to read her ability, and perhaps predict what she would do. He stepped backwards, holding his blade close enough to her's for the two to touch at the tips, both wavering lightly and applying soft pressure against the other. His gray eyes gave her an evaluating glance;"Wouldn't want to break a pretty girl like you." before he either proceeded to keep up his attacks without intention or defended from her counterattack, that would surdently be more vicious than his own half-hearted weavings.