at long last [Nairore]

[alicia]

x x

It hadn't been long since Alicia had been made a Lieutenant--the only Lieutenant, really, and she still hadn't entirely adjusted to the idea that there were actually people under her command. A few of the Knights had expressed their own scepticism that she could lead anyone, but she had managed to put that to rights with a few quiet words, and one memorable bout in the training yards. No one had ever seen her wield her fully assembled sword, until then. They'd also never seen her angry.

She hoped they'd never have to see it again. But it had been necessary. They all needed to know she could not be easily challenged.

A lot had happened since she'd been promoted, too, mostly to do with the Knight-Commander's adopted daughter, Nairore. Alicia had met Nairore once or twice, of course, but they'd never really spoken. Now, however, Alicia held rank, and Nairore ... all that tragedy had struck, and she had been promoted, too. Alicia didn't know the exact details, yet. It was a terrible time for both the Commander and his daughter, and Alicia didn't want to interrupt it for either of them.

And now, Nairore had invited her here, to the training yard. It was dark out, so there was no one else there. Rain was beginning to fall, dropping down in gentle drops, from dark clouds that obscured the stars. It would be a long rainfall.

Alicia had brought her complete sword with her, the full Hollowheart. She'd thought of setting up various pieces of her sword around the battlefield to prepare, but that seemed unfair, so she hadn't. Besides, she wasn't even convinced that Nairore wanted to spar with her. Still, Alicia had brought her sword. If nothing else, it was wise to be armed in the dark.

[Nairore]

x x

Since she had woken up a lot had happened to Nairore. A few odd encounters, many questions from the lower ranked Knights about what had happened exactly, and then, of course, her promotion. Well not so much promotion. Promotion would mean she had already been part of the Knights. Up until now she'd only been part of the Knights unofficial, then, suddenly, she was part of them. And leading them. It was only making what was already there official, but it had been far from expected, especially after she had all but betrayed her own father.

Then again she was, perhaps, the person who had come closest in all of Hyrule to killing Merik Dragmire. Though she still didn't know why she had done that. And she refused to think about it. She remembered the last time she had put too much thought into something, and the following nights of sleeplessness. That had been hell, and she didn't want to face that same fog again. So instead she focused on two goals: finishing Merik off and making sure she stayed at the peak of her game; back to training immediately, even before she had been supposed to.

And then there was this new Lieutenant by Zenethil's side. Alicia, her name was, and she was Leon's brother. Leon, such a pain in Nairore's ass, the man her sister loved and the man who was constantly chasing her. Everyone was chasing someone, it seemed. But that didn't matter, Alicia stood by Zenethil's side and Nairore was not entirely convinced the girl deserved to be there. It had happened during Nairore's absence, and it might've been purely because she hadn't been there. But that would be arrogant of her.

So she decided to kill two birds with one stone. Back to training and to test this new Lieutenant. Technically they were peers, so she should be a fair match for Nairore. At least if Nairore was at her top. But she didn't even have Naurlambe anymore, just the training sword with its dull edge that had been made to train with the other Knights. She watched Alicia arrive in the wide and empty courtyard. "You're certainly making an impression on the Knights, from what I've heard," Nairore said without any real tone. Simple conversation. A rarity for Nairore.

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[alicia]

x x

Alicia waited for Nairore in the field, and watched the woman approach. She'd seen her before, of course, but in the rain, in the barely-there light of the dark, it struck her that she was a very attractive woman. Very attractive. But those sorts of thoughts weren't good for her, not right now. She nearly blushed as she thought of how badly she'd blundered the thing with the fairy girl, Ayameru, just days ago. She swore to herself not to let that happen again, no matter what sort of strange thoughts were plaguing her. It was unbecoming, improper, and more to the point, unprofessional. She made sure that these things were very clear in her mind before Nairore was close enough to speak, and actually managed to have a fair bit of success in doing so.

She didn't know much about Nairore's personal life, or at least, not much more than anyone else; but there were a fair few things that everyone knew. Something to do with the Gerudo King, being a Gerudo herself, and getting into a terrible fight with her adopted father, who, Alicia knew without asking, was not fond in any way of the Gerudo. She felt bad, knowing all the suffering that Nairore had been through, but she couldn't think of any way to address it without coming off as nosy or callous, so she just stood there, nodding when Nairore approached.

"A good one, I hope," she said with a half-smile, genuinely hoping it was true. She had a hard time telling, sometimes. "I try, anyway. I think I've managed to win most of them over," she continued, filling in the silence as best she could. She wasn't exactly sure what Nairore wanted, but with that training sword in hand, she had a pretty good idea. Alicia felt bad for bringing her own, deadly weapon. It didn't seem fair.

"So..." Alicia tried again, hoping to get some response out of the troubled Gerudo woman, "You wanted to speak with me?"

[Nairore]

x x

Nairore still bore a scar from the encounter. The stab wound to her stomach had been cleaned up nicely, with no sign of it left behind now that she was up and better, and considering her typical clothing. Her shoulder had cleaned up as well, though there were some minute shards of her sword left under the skin. The healers weren't able to remove them without causing potential nerve damage, which would've meant her arm would become weaker. They didn't hurt her, nor were they a detriment, so they were left in. No, those two wounds hadn't left any scar.

But on her forearm was a single blotch of silvery skin. When she had pulled that shard of the sword out of her arm she had damaged it to the point where the healers couldn't heal the wound completely. Her arm was still functional, the shard had missed anything important, but there was a nasty scar left there for all to see. It was a constant reminder of her own personal demons, as it were, and the one greatest mistake she had ever made. Much more stand-offish than the narrow scar that passed along the bridge of her nose.

One does not train to become a warrior without bearing their mistakes, though. Even her other scar held a story, but it was not near as dramatic as the one on her arm. She examined the other woman on the field as she closed the gap between them. She was shapely, that much was remarkably clear, and no doubt she had encountered a fair few problems with the Knights for it, just as Nairore had. Granted she had less to prove since she was not a Gerudo, and not the Commander's daughter. Fewer obstacles to vault over on her road to becoming a proper warrior.

"Considering your current rank I'd imagine so," Nairore said, still keeping her tone even and somewhat flat. The ground beneath her feet was becoming increasingly muddy. Mud was hard for most warriors to fight in, it was slippery and liked to cling to you. Nairore never had that problem, for whatever reason. It was an easy advantage. "You came prepared," the Gerudo woman said with a nod toward Alicia's sword. "So clearly you think I wanted to do more than just talk," she added, the corner of her lip twisting upward gently with the hints of a callous grin.

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[alicia]

x x

It struck Alicia that Nairore was covered in scars, discoloured patches of skin on her arm and exposed midriff. Alicia didn't scar, gratefully, or she'd be covered in them. Every time she'd been injured or distressed, crystal growths had sprouted out of her skin in reaction, actually lacerating her flesh even as they began to protect her. Her hand drifted slowly to the arm that was covered in cloth, touching it lightly on her bicep. For some reason, it was always that arm that was the worst. She put it out of her mind. She'd gotten over that a long time ago, or at least, she'd started getting over it. It was remarkably hard to get over stones bursting through your skin.

You couldn't see the stories on Alicia's skin. And she wasn't about to tell anyone about them, unless they asked. She made a muffled, almost embarrassed noise as Nairore gestured to her sword, and suddenly felt foolish about bringing the gigantic weapon. To call it overkill compared to Nairore's training sword was quite the understatement. The rain was starting to fall heavily now, causing Alicia's carefully arrayed hair to droop and cling to her back. it still managed to look good, though in a wholly different way than normal. She could see her reflection in the flat of her sword, and tried to keep herself from worrying over it too much.

"Well, I didn't think you'd ask me to the training yard in the dark just to have a chat about the impression I've been making," Alicia said softly, her voice light and gentle. "I wasn't expecting you'd only bring a training sword ... the Hollowheart is probably a bit much. I can use just one of the component swords, if you like. Um, that is, if you want to practice, in this weather, at this hour...." Alicia trailed off, nervously gripping her left hand with her right, looking to the side. She was a little intimidated by Nairore, who had seen so much. She'd led a relatively boring life by comparison, complicated only by the fact that she was something of a freak.

Yet, here we both are. That has to mean something.

[Nairore]

x x

Nairore's own hair was still a state from her last few weeks of traveling, the red roots having grown out quite long now to set her head on fire, but the brown was still there at the tips, leading to an interesting mess. And now the rain matted it to her head, caused it to frame her face and cling to her back. Not that she cared; Nairore didn't care too much about her own appearance, particularly not now. She had just woken up, as it were, just a few days before. The healers wouldn't like her doing this now, meeting in the courtyard. She was finally allowed out of the Medicae but only under supervision. Typically Zenethil's.

"Actually the dark is the only time I can get out safely. The damn healers are insisting they watch me through rehabilitation or whatever it is they want. Passing around a weighted ball and twisting at the hips isn't exactly my idea of training," she said with a shrug. "If I had any other choice we'd have been meeting here in the daytime, but I didn't," she said dismissively, letting that topic drop. There was only so much to be said on the matter. She tested her footing on the ground.

"My previous weapon kind of exploded, or have you been out of that loop?" Nairore commented in response to Alicia's observation. She spun the training sword around in her hand and tested her grip. It was hard to avoid that loop when you're involved with the Knights. Nairore had only been awake for a few days and already she'd been asked several strange questions that warped the rumors in bizarre and questionable ways. "And before you ask, no, I didn't rip Dragmire's throat out with my teeth as some of the Knights seem to believe."

Nairore closed the gap between them and got close to Alicia. "If you're a Lieutenant as well then you might be a fair match. But first, I'm curious, since we've hardly said two words to each other during our time with the Knights, what have you heard about me from the other Knights? And, actually, since I'm going to be running damage control for my two month absence, what were some of the more popular rumors for why I was gone?"

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[alicia]

x x

As Nairore was speaking, Alicia stood still, nodding attentively, not quite aware that her right hand had drifted back to grab her left wrist again. It was an old habit. When she'd been young, and she hadn't been able to handle her ... condition, she'd had to be careful to check that she wasn't about to turn into a porcupine in front of anyone. It had always been bad on her left wrist; now, it was just an old leftover habit, something she did to make herself feel better when she was nervous. She wasn't sure if she should be out here, then, if Nairore was supposed to be recovering ... and while Nairore held rank, the only one who could say otherwise was Zenethil, and Alicia wondered what Zenethil would think of this. But at the same time she didn't want to just ignore Nairore and leave. She sort of let out a gasp of exasperation when Nairore mentioned her weapon.

"Sorry! I knew it had been destroyed, but I thought that, perhaps, you had a new weapon or ...." She trailed off, feeling very self-conscious about the weight and heft of the Hollowheart, taking up so much space in the sheath resting on her legs. When Nairore started talking about throats, Alicia blinked. "No, I never thought anything like that," she said softly. Alicia was not fond of rumour mongering, and did her best to avoid it. The knights could be worse than a sewing circle when they all got together.

"I haven't heard much," Alicia said, somewhat honestly. "You're an ... accomplished warrior, and Zenethil's daughter. There are some who say you're a Gerudo or ... something along those lines. There are less savoury rumours, about you and the Gerudo King, but ... I try not to encourage such things. People shouldn't talk about others behind their backs. Knights especially," Alicia finished softly. She'd been the victim of rumours from time to time, particularly as she'd been travelling around with her mother as a child. She wasn't fond of them in any way. She slowly pulled out the Hollowheart and planted it in the ground, the enchanted steel more than able to be untarnished by the mud. She tapped it once and a spark of electricity surged along the weapon, and she pulled the hollow, blade-edge sword, called Envy. She smiled at the private irony and twirled the blade around in her hand, before letting it rest there. The weapon was at least five feet long, from blade to tip, the grip actually submerged in the blade of the weapon. It was a defensive weapon as much as an offensive one, which Alicia liked.

"If you would like to practice, I'd be happy to oblige. Just as long as you're sure you've healed enough to handle it," Alicia said, her voice quiet, but oddly confident. With her sword in her hand, things didn't seem so impossible.

[Nairore]

x x

She was compliant, she didn't support rumors nor even seemed to pay them any heed, nor did she think ill of her colleagues. Nairore could see the appeal she had to Zenethil, why she would make a good lieutenant, but then Zenethil wasn't the type to just promote a yes man, was he? He didn't look for ceaseless nodding, he looked for multiple points of view, different perspectives. He sought someone who could bring something new. His Lieutenants would pitch something he didn't already know, which meant they'd have quick combat sense and the wit to apply it.

Nairore would find this out herself in training.

"I am a Gerudo, I was adopted. And chances are all of those less savoury things you've been hearing are true, a lot of stuff happened in the last two months," she said, and winced to herself for bringing up painful memories. It wasn't exactly like she was proud of what had happened. But it was necessary to her own little interrogation. "Not that I'd like that being spread around," she murmured, wondering why she was even saying half of the things she was saying. Zenethil hadn't had many Lieutenants in her time, and now suddenly he had two. She didn't know how to judge them.

"I'm healed, I'm fit for training," Nairore said, though she was in no way certain of this. She hadn't left the Medicae yet, except for night time training exercises, and those often ended with her coughing up blood. But she was fairly certain she was okay enough to fight. That might just be arrogance, but she had been better than any of the Knights she had ever fought. Significantly. So she wouldn't need to exert herself fully against Alicia anyway. Just enough to probe, while testing her sword arm. She wasn't too confident in her left arm after the injuries it had taken.

Which is why she held her sword in that hand as she mounted a low guard, her standard start. "It certainly would help get the rust off. Lying in bed for four days straight and then more as they insist you sit around tends to get to you. I've been stiff as a board since I woke up," she cooed with a grin.

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[alicia]

x x

"I won't say a word," Alicia said quietly, almost too quiet to hear. She raised her sword up and gripped it in both hands, widening her stance. She was aware of the mud, and that it certainly wouldn't be much of a help t her, but hopefully if she was aware, then she'd be able to compensate for it. She calmed her mind, and focused on her opponent. Even if it was only a training session, that was no reason not to take it very seriously, or disrespect her opponent. Nairore had a reputation, and a small, private part of her relished the ability to test her skills against another. She tilted her sword a little so that it was at a diagonal, the long, broad sword essentially covering all of her body in its guard. Alicia was patient. She wasn't about to rush in and engage someone who she didn't have the measure of. Of course, if Nairore wasn't about to do that either, then this was probably going to be a long fight. Or one that didn't start at all, depending. She moved a little to the right, slowly, getting her footing. The ground was sticky, but it wasn't exactly boglike yet. That was good.

"Well, I'm sure we can loosen you up," Alicia said with a laugh, focusing on Nairore only as a potential combatant, now. That was a good thing, since otherwise she probably would've blushed. "So how do you want to do this? First blood?" Alicia asked, knowing privately that would put her at the disadvantage. In a way her entire fighting style relied on getting hit, at least a little bit. She knew that, despite how painful it was, her Crystallis armour was a potent weapon, and one that very few people knew how to handle. But still, she didn't want to push someone who had so recently been injured, particularly given that this particular someone was the Captain's daughter, who may or may not have actually been allowed to be out here. She adjusted her grip on her sword. Loose, but not too lose. Firm, but not to the point that her hands were strained.

"You know, I've heard a lot about you, Nairore, though we hadn't really crossed ways. It'll be a pleasure to see how you do in a fight, if only one for practice."

Alicia remained still, patient and waiting, as the rain fell from the sky.

[Nairore]

x x

The mud was nothing to Nairore, and she made a point of pacing a slow circle around Alicia just to let the hybrid know this. Her feet found easy traction, her body finding its balance naturally, instinctively, and it compensated for the slippery ground in the same manner. Nairore kept her sword between the two of them in a low guard as she sized up Alicia's posture and chosen stance. A diagonal cross guard, predictable enough but only because it was the wisest choice for a broadsword the size of Alicia's. Ample protection.

Which also told Nairore that the hybrid was waiting for her to make the first move. Nairore took note of this but continued her circle until it was complete, making sure to keep distance between them as well. Alicia had the reach advantage, so Nairore made sure she would see any surprise attacks coming before Alicia did. Body language spoke volumes in combat. Once the circle was complete Nairore found her footing and stopped her pacing, grinning at the hybrid as she then considered her first attack.

"First blood, though your blade might give you an advantage," she said, though it was intended as a sleight. Nairore knew she was better than most of the Knights and up until two months before she had left she hadn't seen anyone with the potential to best her. Granted she didn't see much of Alicia, the girl was shy, but she had been a Knight while Nairore trained them, so she knew two months couldn't be radically different. The only Knight who had ever actually succeeded at making Nairore bleed during training had been Jacq, and that hadn't been legal.

Nairore dashed forward suddenly, her Gerudo blood giving her good acceleration. She smirked widely as she cleared the gap, immediately aiming to get inside the wide reach of the broadsword. She wasn't fool enough to start an attack until she was, leaving her training sword available to block as needed. Once inside, if she managed, her sword would come up into a vertical block to protect her as she spun for one of her wicked roundhouse kicks that, surprisingly, still managed to catch Knights off guard.

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[alicia]

x x

Alicia watched Nairore, and frowned. Was she not taking this seriously? All she'd managed to do so far is let Alicia know exactly how capable she was in this terrain ... very capable, in short, but having the knowledge made all the difference. Alicia wouldn't be able to depend on Nairore suffering from poor footing, as Alicia was. But if she knew that, she'd be able to deal with it. Or, at least, compensate for it. She felt bad about her sword again when Nairore made a comment about it, and then decided what to do. It wouldn't be smart, but it would be right. Her stance was tight and focused, her limbs barely even moving as she relaxed into her defensive stance, apparently perfectly at ease.

When Nairore charged, Alicia raised her sword point, readying herself for whatever was coming. From her stance--all defence, rather than offence--she was able to evaluate what was coming, to watch the way she was holding her weapon. She stood her ground, finding the solid dirt beneath the softening mud, and readied her defence for Nairore's attack. The Gerudo's sword came at her in a sudden flash, and for a split second, Alicia moved to defend an anticipated strike ... but realized that it was only a feint. Instead, she saw the way Nairore's lithe body was twisting, coiling itself, ready to unload, and Alicia reacted, suddenly spinning on the spot and bringing her sword to her side, holding it vertical so that Nairore's foot would catch the flat of Alicia's blade. As the impact hit, an electric charge shuddered through the weapon, and Alicia's eyes narrowed. She spun around again, pushing Nairore off of her sword, and forcing her back, keeping her out of range of her short sword. Then, Alicia did something more than a little bizarre. She flipped Envy upside down, and thrust it into the ground, planting it into the earth.

"It'd be unfair to use that kind of sword against a training sword. My other swords are still powerful, but ... maybe not as large as Envy," she said, softly. She raised her left hand, holding it at an angle from her side. For a moment, it wasn't clear what was going on, until one of the small, shortswords on the side of the completed Hollowheart detached from its resting place and zoomed into her hand, slapping there with a burst of kinetic energy. She flipped the sword in her hand a couple times, then started walking, slowly, towards Nairore, taking care to watch her footing. The rain hadn't really had a chance to turn the ground to complete slime, but the dirt was loose, and clumping, and if she moved too quickly, or without thought ... well, that sort of slip-up would be easy for someone like Nairore to capitalize on.

She didn't make any aggressive moves towards Nairore, only continued to walk slowly, her blade resting in her hand, seeming deceptively slack, though if you looked closely, you could see electricity arcing from Alicia's fingertips into the blade. Her face betrayed no emotion, and displayed none of her earlier shyness. Now it was business.

And she was pretty darn good at her business.

[Nairore]

x x

She got inside the striking range of that large sword, but she hadn't anticipated the speed with which Alicia could block with it. It was a foolish mistake to make, one that Nairore wouldn't have made if she had been at the top of her game. Her foot connected with steel, against the flat of Alicia's blade, and she heard the dangerous hum of the shock running through it. Her foot kicked off of the blade using Alicia's own momentum to throw herself away before she got more than a static shock, her feet hitting the ground hard and digging in to keep her from slipping.

Her recovery cost her a lot of ground, but as she recollected herself she watched as Alicia detached a shorter sword from her larger weapon. Alicia said something about how powerful her swords were, but Nairore just quirked an eyebrow. Sure, they lived in a world full of enchanted weapons that could do all sorts of crazy thing, but if you didn't know how to use such a weapon then it was nowhere near as powerful as it should be. But Alicia knew how to use her weapon, that much was clear just in the way she held herself. So the real question was whether or not she'd use the weapon's potential.

Even Nairore had never ignited Naurlambe when they were doing live weapons training. Alicia really didn't hold back if she would use her magic in a training match like this. Was she always like this or was it just because of what she had heard about Nairore? The Gerudo cracked a smirk as Alicia decided on her weapon and started forward. "Nice to know you aren't holding back," Nairore said, rolling her shoulder. It was still stiff where Naurlambe had pierced through. Might be a detriment. "Are you like this with all Knights in your charge or is this a special case?"

She took a few steps back as Alicia stalked forward. Nairore had the advantage on this terrain, as was noticeable by Alicia's slow and steady pace. She was playing it careful, which slowed her speed quite a bit, while Nairore was able to maintain a regular pace. So she kept the gap between the two of them, pacing backward at a steady pace, leading Alicia onward, wrapping around to one of the wetter spots on the field. It was an obvious plan, and Nairore fully expected Alicia to stop once she realized it, but the closer she could get before that realization hit the better.

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[alicia]

x x

Alicia blinked, feeling somewhat surprised.

"Not holding back? What do yo--oh! The little surge on my sword! That just ... happens, it's storing energy, sorry. I can't really control it," she said, sounding absurdly apologetic. As Nairore continued to speak, Alicia felt even more confused. The truth was, she was holding back, or at least, was taking great care not to make any too deliberately offensive moves, against someone who was so injured. But she couldn't think of any way to say that without sounding rude, so she kept it to herself. As Nairore backed away, however, Alicia abruptly stopped. Far and away from not wanting to get onto the wet ground, she just knew better than to let someone else lead her if she was trying to play things defensively. If she had been more interested in the attack, then she would've pursued. But as it was, her mind was calm and clear, and she did not seek to push the offensive, not now, when doing so would just play into Nairore's hands.

That had always been how she fought. Lead them to her, rather than the other way around. In a real fight, she'd use the ability of her sword to launch her weapons like projectiles, but in this case doing so would feel unfair, since Nairore was stripped of her own weapon; and as Nairore had said, they were only practising. She raised her sword again, her stance straightening, her left hand resting at her side as she held her weapon in her right.

"I'm not going to fall for that that easily," Alicia said softly, smiling with unnatural sweetness for someone who was supposed to be fighting. She stood, still as a lily, waiting for her foe to attack.

[Nairore]

x x

She didn't follow. That was wise. She had barely gotten two steps before stopping once Nairore had taken to leading her. Good combat sense, she immediately knew when she was being led toward a trap. Though it was obvious, so Nairore supposed she couldn't congratulate her opponent too much. All Alicia really proved was that she wasn't an idiot, which should've been obvious enough by the fact that the woman had managed to make it to the upper ranks of the Hylian Knights. In theory this fight should be dead even, but then there were a lot of circumstances preventing that.

Nairore being on the mend, for example, and being down a weapon. The field was to Nairore's advantage, but that was about it. Alicia was healthy and had her main weapon handy. Despite her familiarity with the training sword in her hand, it was hardly Naurlambe. Nairore couldn't expect to be at her best without her signature weapon, that had become so familiar it had essentially been a part of her. Now it literally was a part of her with shards embedded into her shoulder, but that was beside the point. The practice sword was hardly a real weapon.

All things considered, however, Nairore knew her own style well enough that she could admit she didn't really need Naurlambe, not for her standard physical strikes. The sword had always been used for defensive purposes. The problem was Alicia's defensive style gave her little ground to strike with her fists; such contact didn't work with electrified swords. She was just asking to get a shock. At least she didn't have to worry about children this time. Why was it everyone she fought lately aimed to electrocute her, from Lorina to Zenethil and now Alicia.

"Good to know you're not an idiot," she commented flatly. Nairore needed to take out Alicia's balance and get this fight into close quarters. With a grunt and astounding speed granted to her by her Gerudo blood she honed in on Alicia, clearing the gap between them remarkably quick. Her weight shifted, pulled back, and she threw her legs forward, one in front of the other. The ground was slippery enough that she became a high speed projectile, sliding straight for Alicia's legs. Best way to throw off somebody's balance: kick the legs out from under them.

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[alicia]

x x

Pale Watchers

Alicia watched Nairore closely, her fingers curling and uncurling around her sword, testing her grip as she waited for Nairore to approach. She smiled a little at Nairore's comment, not so much because she thought of it as a compliment, but because of how hilariously rude Nairore was. Alicia sometimes wished she could be that forward, but then ... if she was, she'd be an entirely different person. No sense dreaming about what would never happen, after all.

Then, in a stunning flash, Nairore was hurtling towards Alicia at almost impossible speed. Alicia frowned and flipped her sword into a reverse grip, widening and lowering her stance once more. Luckily, Nairore dropped into a slide just soon enough to let Alicia know what was coming. She didn't have much time to act, and she knew that she couldn't let Nairore knock her off her balance, so Alicia did the first thing that came to mind. She dropped down onto one knee and moved her sword into a horizontal block, the sharp end of the blade pointing directly at Nairore's feet. She braced herself for impact, reading her other arm to block any incoming attacks Nairore might launch. She might look soft, but her skin could be like stone when she meant it to.