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Post by sakura on Jan 11, 2012 19:55:02 GMT -8
(ooc: Date, July 2nd, first day after The Meeting. Open only to Sakura and Arthur unless we decide if anyone else can come in.)
This had been the moment that Sakura had been waiting for. A chance to show the world that she was not about to hide behind her Queen and watch others fight. She might have been small, she might have been a fledgling but she was ruthless and showed no mercy. If it was a war the demons wanted, then let it be so.
Twirling her spear around, the retrackable chain wrapped around the wooden dummy she had used for practicing and slammed it into the tree, sending it into a million splinters.
"Too easy. I hope not all my opponents are as breakable as that dummy." she sighed before turning sharply. The sound of foosteps caused her to tighten her grip on her weapon and held the pointed end in front of her. "Come out before i kill you!"
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Post by Arthur on Jan 12, 2012 10:12:10 GMT -8
Arthur had, once again, gone out of Black Castle to spend some time on his own. He had a better grip on his ability to change his shape, at least for the time being, and was feeling pretty good about himself. The sound of something slamming against a tree made him just about jump out of his skin. What was that?
"Come out before I kill you!"
Well, wasn't that a friendly greeting! Arthur was rather tempted to not come out at all. The voice didn't sound friendly at all. He didn't want to have to deal with whoever it was. At the same time, there was nowhere else he could really go. Swallowing his pride, the young shapeshifter stepped forward through the nearest bush and held his hands up defensively.
"D-Don't attack! I'm unarmed!"
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Post by sakura on Jan 12, 2012 12:30:52 GMT -8
Clicking her tounge, Sakura scaled the boy over a few times. Her red eyes still narrowed. However, after a moment, she lowered her weapon. The boy was obviously not what she was expecting, She had been hoping that someone would come and try to take her on, clearly this was not what she wanted.
Life was very unfair. "Going unarmed when there's a war about to take place is really stupid." she said biting her lip for a moment. "Just saying."
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Post by Arthur on Jan 12, 2012 14:17:49 GMT -8
A war? ...Oh, that was right. Gothel had mentioned the meeting going badly. Arthur almost wished he had gone along to represent the shapeshifters. However, his alliance with Gothel made him decide against it. Besides, he had wanted to spend a bit of time with Hiccup that day. The other twiggy boy had been in need of a companion, at least that was what Arthur thought, so the two had hung out. Arthur frowned a bit at Sakura's words at long last. "I'm not completely defenseless." Arthur said.
It seemed like a rare moment in which his powers actually wanted to cooperate with him. Just as Arthur finished speaking, he began to concentrate on visualizing a different form to take. Within a few moments, the boy no longer stood in his spot. Instead, a small scruffy sparrow was fluttering just in front of Sakura. The transformation went in reverse after a few moments, though. His bird form was rather difficult to maintain, after all. "I can... take the shape of different animals. Small ones, but it's not like I'm completely defenseless." Arthur said. He did wish he had a better handle on staying in one form or another, though.
Sakura did have a point, now that he thought about it. If he was unable to transform, Arthur probably would be doomed. He had no way of utilizing a weapon, though. Magic was also beyond his knowledge. He sheepishly put his hands behind his back and glanced at the ground. "I guess I do see your point, though. I don't... really have a good grasp on using weapons." Arthur admitted.
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Post by sakura on Jan 12, 2012 16:35:00 GMT -8
Sakura raised her eyebrows at the sparrow change. She had never met a shapeshifter before, and was a little impressed. Only a little bit. "Yes, i am sure changing into a sparrow will help you poke out your enemies eyes so they don't turn you into their next meal." she said sarcastically. At his mention of not being able to use weapons, she was not surprised.
"Look, I'm Not Doing Much, I suppose i could teach you a thing or to." she said holding the spear out in front of her. "I don't like the idea of some little scrawny kid running around without being able to defend himself. Takes the fun out of trying to fight them."
(ooc: kind of loving this thread by the way)
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Post by Arthur on Jan 13, 2012 19:02:24 GMT -8
"That's not what I meant. I mean... I could fly away or run away if something tried to attack me. That's all." Arthur said. Admittedly, it didn't sound all that brave now that he thought about it. But what else was a shapeshifter like him supposed to do? He didn't have much of a choice in the matter. He wanted to remark on how he wasn't scrawny and that he was still growing, but he didn't get to. Arthur was rather intrigued by the girl's offer to teach him. She didn't even know him. Why would she want to help him out? What if they were from completely different classes? Arthur didn't even know if she was a shapeshifter or not.
"I... I don't know. We only just met. Sort of. I mean, would you really be willing to teach me?" Arthur asked. He had always wanted to learn to use a sword properly. It would have helped him in eventually becoming a squire, right? Squires had to know how to handle swords properly. At least, Arthur thought they did.
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Post by sakura on Jan 13, 2012 19:06:38 GMT -8
Sakura rolled her eyes yet again, leaning on the spear handle she gave the boy a drool look. "As much as i hate to admit it, i think that there's something about you that could get you to be a good fighter." she shrugged. "I've always been able to tell this short of thing, plus i don't think that it would be a good idea if you were a mouse and a hell-cat or something ate you."
She sighed before pulling back her hair again and tying the bow securely. "You got a weapon or you could use mine." she said. "Your choice."
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Post by Arthur on Jan 21, 2012 16:30:32 GMT -8
"A... a weapon?" Arthur asked. He didn't have one with him. Sir Ector had never even considered letting him near them, much less training with one. Arthur just shook his head a little, offering a sheepish sort of look to Sakura before a meek, little smile formed on his face. "I'm afraid I don't have a weapon. I hadn't even thought about learning to use one. It's been hard enough learning to master all my different shapeshifting abilities without worrying about learning to use a weapon too." he explained. However, he did think Sakura had a point. He could have used something to defend himself with. Just in case he did wind up in a sticky situation. At length, the blond gave a shrug and put his hands behind his back.
"But... I guess I could learn now. Since you did offer to train me." Arthur said. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Gothel wouldn't mind if he knew how to defend himself. In fact, she probably would be glad he knew how to defend himself better. One less useless kid to defend, right? "And... my name's Arthur, by the way." he said.
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Post by sakura on Jan 21, 2012 22:40:44 GMT -8
Sakura rolled her eyes at the thought of having a young kid like this go out into battle without a weapon, let alone learning how to defend himself. Didn't they know anything about self-defense? Of course, Sakura had to learn it all on her own. "I'm Sakura." she muttered, the vampire was unused to introducing herself so casually. It was very odd but at the same time, it was a good feeling.
She, then walked over and handed him a small dagger that she had pulled out of her boot. "Until you can get your own, you can borrow mine, just don't loose it." she said giving him a dark look before setting up another wooden dummy. "Now, why don't you show me how much strength you have by just cutting at this right here."
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Post by Arthur on Jan 26, 2012 8:43:25 GMT -8
Even though the request was simple, Arthur felt more than a little intimidated by it. He didn't have all that much strength. That was easy enough to figure out based on his appearance. Twiggy kid was very twiggy. But that didn't stop him from wanting to at least try and prove himself. He gripped the little weapon in his hand, cerulean blue gaze fixing itself upon the indicated target, and Arthur let a deep breath enter and exit his body. He could do this. He wasn't weak.
Arthur raised the blade in the air and moved toward the dummy as quickly as he could. Fortunately for him, his klutzish behavior seemed to want to stay out of it right then. He wasn't exactly graceful with his movements, but he didn't trip over his own feet. It was a good feeling. When he was close enough, Arthur tried to strike the dummy with all his might. He felt his arms tremble a bit when the blade struck the wood, but when he pulled back to see how much damage he had done Arthur was disappointed to see only a small cut as the result of his endeavor. Nowhere near strong enough.
"Uh... I uh... guess that's the best I can do right now..." Arthur murmured. Pitiful. But he was certain that was only because he was just starting. He'd get better. Sooner or later he would have to.
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Post by sakura on Jan 26, 2012 12:37:29 GMT -8
Sakura had the sudden urge to cuss. That was all he could do? "Alright, as pathetic as that was, i think i can see where you are having trouble." she replied. "Hold the blade tighter, like this." she demonstrated on her own weapon. "You have to actually feel your power on it, as strange as it sounds a weapon knows its weilder's power. If you are weak then the weapon can sense it." At least that's how she saw it anyways.
"Now, plant your feet firmly on the ground, keep your focus on what you want to accomplish. If you want to protect anyone think about. Or about how you really want to destory your opponent until he begs for mercy." she gave an almost scary grin before returning her gaze to Arthur. "Try again. this time feel what you want."
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Post by Arthur on Jan 28, 2012 22:13:47 GMT -8
Arthur blinked a couple of times, clearly wanting to question what had been so pitiful about his first attempt when he knew it had been just that, before meekly nodding and trying to tighten his grip like she had demonstrated. It wasn't the easiest thing in the world for him, having never used a weapon before, but his grip did tighten a little. He squared his shoulders and stared at the training dummy again as she went on. However, Arthur lost his motivation the moment she mentioned wanting to protect someone. He didn't have anyone to protect. Arthur was the odd one out when it came to being at Black Castle. He was a shapeshifter among witches and wizards! On top of that, the boy had only a small handful of friends. None of them were particularly close, either.
"But... I don't have anyone to protect. No one close, I mean." Arthur said. It probably wasn't a wise idea to question what she had said, namely because she was the one teaching him and knew more about what she was talking about than he did, but it was the truth. Arthur had no idea of who he wanted to protect. He had no direct family, no close friends, not even a girl that he fancied. He was seemingly alone, and he felt that fact more than ever right then as he realized it.
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Post by sakura on Jan 28, 2012 22:24:34 GMT -8
"Uh...okay." Sakura said closing her eyes, trying to think about it. Did this kid seriously not have any friends? Guess that made them one in the same. Biting her lip, she felt tears starting to come again, she wouldn't show this kid that she was weak. She did have people to protect, her little sister Momo, her family were all dead. Now she fought for them in spirit. "Do you have a dream?" she asked. "Think about that one person who stood in the way of you trying to complete it. You want to prove to them you aren't weak, aren't helpless."
She gave a tiny smile, her fangs barely showing. "Just give it a try."
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Post by Arthur on Jan 31, 2012 9:02:22 GMT -8
Yes... Arthur did have a dream. He'd wanted to be a squire for as long as he could remember. The one that had stood in the way of that, Sir Ector, had always made things rather difficult for him. Even Kay had made it difficult. But now... maybe he could vent his frustrations on that out in a positive way. Arthur gripped the blade again and focused. Sometimes Sir Ector really did frustrate him. Always telling him what to do and never letting him have all that much of a chance. It was time to do something about it. Arthur raised the blade, continued to focus on his thoughts, and before he knew it...
Shing!
Arthur sliced at the dummy once more. This time, he actually felt more of an impact. He could see there was still a lot of work to be done in regards to training himself, but he had left a deeper cut on the dummy. That had to count for something. "How... how was that, Sakura?" Arthur asked.
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Post by sakura on Jan 31, 2012 17:36:41 GMT -8
It was safe to say Sakura had not expected the boy to do that. The dummy looked completely fine except for a few giant parts missing. "....Not bad. Not bad at all." she said with a smile. "Strength is very important if you are fighting an opponent, you've got to want to win and not let your opponent see you as weak."
She then picked up her weapon before turning to the boy again. "But defense is also important." she didn't need to remind him or hopefully tell him what she wanted him to do. "Just remember, if you want people to take you seriously you have to act on it fast."
With nothing left to say, she ran towards him, weapon drawn.
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