aefenglom | text; un: magicowl

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text; un: magicowl

Name: Bishop
Date: 7/31
Format: Text

I'll keep this brief, I need sparring partners. Martial arts, swords, spears, fire arms, fucking silverware, I don't care. I'm starting to feel rusty and I need to shake it off, preferably now. This isn't a quest but I'm willing to compensate you for your time. Anyone will do my only condition is don't hold back.

Have a nice day.

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[She raises an eyebrow at him through about half this process. She supposes live steel is a bit dangerous to work with, but then, most of her sparring has either been that or given swords from the Wilders.

She proffers the blade, but keeps her hand on the handle. He can do that trick without taking her sword.] Yes. Admittedly, I've never even thought to use such a thing.

[Har har, what's losing a bit of blood?]

[ Define 'bit'. He runs his fingers along the edge and does the same test to ensure it's working before nodding and taking a few steps back. ]

The idea came to me when my cat was playing with one of my cooking knives and we nearly had an accident. Thank goodness for quick barrier spells.

[ And quick reflexes. ]

So, lets get down to business then. We'll do a few matches and first to be able to get a killing blow. Of course, try to control letting the blow actually connect. It won't cut but it'll hurt like a bitch and a half. Agreed?

You let your cat play with knives? [She almost - almost sounds amused at this. Unfortunately, her sense of joy and merriment and humor has been dead for most of the month, so it's a pale echo of what she could feel, but... hey. It's close.

She steps back a few paces, swinging her sword, making sure nothing feels "off" about it, now that the blade is dull, and coming up... fine, actually. This'll work.]

I agree to the terms. [She moves her blade in her hands a bit, then separates the two, then puts them back together. Alright, looks like the magic won't touch the ability to "trick" the Rakuyo either, so she'll call that good enough.]

I'll let you say the word to start.

I don't let her play with it, but she's a cat. When have they ever listened to people?

[ He's intrigued by her weapon but he'll see what she's capable in just a few. He takes a couple of steps back just as she did and sheathes his katana. ]

Right then, on my mark...

[ He crouches into a draw stance while he apprises Maria, analyzing her weapons, her posture, and the movement of her eyes to find gaps in her defense or at the very least the side she is least defended. His loosely gripped the hilt of his blade, finger twitching with anticipation as he readied his strike. ]

...GO!

[ Bishop rushed forward with his body low and aimed for her legs as he drew his blade and swung wildly, the intent not to strike and harm but to ruin her footing and gain an advantage. ]

Hm... rarely. [She'd think he'd pay more attention to his own Sharp Objects, but maybe that's just her.

She knows she has him (and... like the vast majority of other people) at a reach disadvantage, so she's curious where he decides to rush first. That place is low, likely trying to get under her center of gravity.

Clever, she has to give him that. Not many people realize someone her size has that drawback at times. The only thing is, she's not really trying to move quickly. He's the one that closed distance, so she doesn't have to do the rushdown, and he's staying close. And he's just trying to hack at her legs like he's chopping down a tree. Every one of her Hunter instincts tells her to backstep, to get out of range, to move out of this whole thing and not get hit, because even little attacks can be deadly in Yharnam.

She's not sure if he'd count a hit to her legs as staggering, even if she doesn't, necessarily, so she does just that: become that asshole hunter that's super hard to hit because they're in love with their circle button.

Hop backstep. Hop backstep. Hop backstep, and then her swords clang together as she just drives down a brutal overhead strike that would probably also end in a fifty foot explosion of blood if she'd charged her sword. Luckily for him, she does not. She has no reason (and no ability) to pull out Ye Olde Vileblood blood magic.]

[ Speed was his advantage just as she has her reach, and he's more than aware of that difference, but what was more important was her movements which were within his predictions. This granted him some insight into her fighting style even if just a little.

She was used to fighting smaller opponents, speedy ones like him and maybe some heavy hitters too. Small controlled dodges, minimal use of energy, and a perpetual calm that's almost eerie. 'Good' he thinks. He's not facing an amateur. 'Beasts must be hunted, huh'.

The sound of metal thrust his instincts up a level and his gaze swung up to see a glint of steel coming down on him. Dodging back only puts him in her range for a swing or thrust, and he's too inclined forward to stop and change direction now - that'd just be a second or two lost. Forward was the only direction he could go in this situation, forward and behind her which he does by pushing up off his next step and into a roll with the blade narrowly missing him. He doesn't stop there and he continues his roll until he's able to turn and face her and rise to his feet, sword held up to defend.

He was right to test the waters first, Maria's visage is not one that is feigned. She earned that aura. This made him smile.]

[Oh yes, he is definitely fast, and he is definitely good at spotting some of the holes in her defenses. Something the Beasts were never very good at, but the Hunters were. She can all but hear Gehrman barking at her to shore that up... Gehrman, and the ones who taught her to be a knight. After all, it wasn't always Beasts that the Cainhurst Knights hunted.

She turns on him, stance still relaxed and confident, and moves. Every one of her attacks is sudden, hard, in his face - it closes distance amazingly, so backing away from her is a poor idea, she's made for chasing people down.

But there's a bit of recovery time, and some of her heaviest attacks are telegraphed - she takes a moment to gather herself before unleashing a particularly brutal strike. There's no point in adding the blood magic atop it at the moment, this is just sparring, but if only he knew.]

[ For such a thin blade, it had considerable weight behind it or perhaps it was just Maria's strength. He blocked and parried blow after blow and each one taxing the endurance of his arm. He only jeopardized his position further by taking a step back by accident.

Then approached a big swing, a chance to recover and instead of backing away he charged in. He lifted the sword up to catch Marie's attack approached then directed the moment of her strike away so he can slip past and create some distance.

Reach and power. Those were her strengths. Now he knows and now he can plan. ]

Not bad. You talk about hunting beasts but it looks to me that your technique is better suited against people. Not that I expect sword play to be anything but.

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