En guard [Open]

It was the end of the day and majority of the academy's was over or coming to an end. With classes over the students were free to do as they please to entertain themselves or, for the more destemmed one could go about bettering themselves. What better place to do this then the training hall of the academy. The building held three main indoor areas, the Gym, Sparring Hall, and Showers separated into male and female of course. Even now with the school over more than a hand full of student could still be seen in different part of the hall, but our story takes us to the Sparring hall today. The sound of metal on metal could be heard through out the training hall as steel clash with steel. There were fewer people in this area allowing the sounds to carry farther and louder than normal, but they raven hair girl couldn't hear it. Right now her eyes were locked only onto the training bot across from her. The training bot, like it big brother security one, were made in Atlus and used for live combat training when another person wasn't around, or maybe to practice killing blows maybe. That was something the girl didn't want to think about.

With just a meter separating the two Layla took her stance, placing her body sidewise to make herself a smaller target. Her right hand was held out before her, sword at the ready, as her left arm was tuck behind her back. It was a fencing styles relying more on speed and dexterity than raw power. The bot across from her held a training sword with two hands in a base state. She had made the mistake early in thinking because of that base stance the bot would be easy picking. Now she had a bruise on both her cheek and side to prove it was a lot faster than she thought. Still she couldn't stop now with just a handful of damage. Squeaking her foot closer and closer Layla watched for any giveaway, but without a face, she might as well been staring at a wall. All she could do was attack and so she did.

Stepping forward Layla would spin to the right while sidestepping and swinging her sword toward the bot right leg. Without surprised it blocked her swing with it own blade and the dance began once again. Layla had dexterity aiming and attacking through the smallest opening, but the bot had matched her speed and had more power than her. In the long run, this gave it the advantage as it could knock any of her attacks away, but she still had a trick up her sleeve. Stepping back she purposely left her left leg exposed to an attack. As planned the bot took the bait attacking with a quickly diagonal swing. It was almost faster then she planned for, but Layla manages to dodge it as she jumped into the air. This of course made would make anyone a sitting target in the air for anyone fast enough for a follow-up attack and the bot was. However, Layla isn't just anyone.

Where her body should have been falling back toward the ground Layla held her spot in the air as she watched the bot sword thrust come toward her. As if with wings Layla flew higher into the air above the sparring blade before flipping forward stabbing her the tip of her blade straight down into the bot torso fron the side of it neck. With a quick and hard twist the bot when limp and fell to the ground along with the girl. Beathing heavly the girl laid on the ground with a wide smile. Happy she beat the damn thing for once.

The impact against Hyght's shield arm was heavy enough to cause him to stagger him but not rid him of his balance(though only barely). The rotund baker was rocked back and let the momentum of the blow flow through him but instead of blocking with tight muscles like he used to, he had learned how to take a strong impact and lessen the damage by relaxing his muscles at the moment of contact. However, this hadn't been something he had learned to do every time so the damage, while not quite as harmful as before, would still leave a nice bruise. The heavy club of Atlas Autonomous Combat Drone #94, or Double A as Hyght had referred to it as, had met with the simple round shield attached to Hyght's right arm and snapped back with speed more befitting a Herculean fighter than the six feet tall robot.

Hyght righted himself just before the heavy club came plummeting down on top of him. With a panicked sidestep the young man whipped his blade in a circular motion behind his head and brought it diagonally onto the neck of Double A. Double A let out a short klaxon before it stood upright and returned to its previously positioned placement in the training room. Hyght felt himself bend at the waist and place the heels of his palms against his knees. He panted and fought to catch his breath. Once he had he glanced at his Scroll and noticed his health:

Hyght Briggs
HP: 100/150
AP: 135/150

A moment later he slipped his gladius styled sword into its scabbard and removed his shield from his arm. It was then that he noticed something in the corner of his eye and turned to investigate. A girl with long hair so dark it almost seemed to absorb the light around it, had just executed an impressive areal assault that ended with her sword through the head of her sparring bot. Hyght was impressed, especially when he placed who she was.

She was the bat faunus that he had sparred against some time ago. He could still point out on his shield where her ax had been blocked. When she landed she dropped onto the floor and her chest rose and fell with labored breaths. Hyght found himself smirking at the scene as he understood the expression he saw spread across her features. This was his first time beating Double A after three weeks of getting stomped. Before he could stop himself he had walked over and squatted down a meter or so from her. "That's a cheap trick." He said, his sarcasm evident in his tone. When she would look his way he added. "Nice win."

"Two down, three to go." Lothric looked at the three training bots before looking down at the two he had already dispatched with his last series of attacks he couldn't help but chuckle. While these things where nothing like fighting another person they would do when it came to keeping ones skill and strength up.

Lothric took a quick glance over his armor before givng a slight annoyed "Tch!" when he noticed the few dents and scratches he had accumulated during his bout with these soulless beings. Raising his sword up towards his right shoulder he pointed the tip of the sword towards the his left foot making sure to place both hands on the handle with the right one crossing over the left and holding close to the guard with both. The training bots then started to circle him as they readied their standardized swords before they all three charged at him attempting to nullify his ability to dodge and counter attack them which had been Lothric's main tactic for the engagement.

Laughing loudly for a few moments before placing his right foot in front of the left one Lothric then went into a crouched stance while he swung his sword across the ground in a circular motion. As sparks started to appear within the circle Lothric's sword was suddenly engulfed in flames as he continued to spin around one more time, but this time he raised himself up from the crouched position and as he swung his sword the fire from it seemed to grow in size exponentially until it hit the three training bots sending them crashing into the ground with several burn marks on their frames.

"Well that was refreshing." Lothric then looked around himself to make sure that he wouldn't be in the way of someone still training, he noticed a pair that seemed to be resting after their individual training sessions against the bots. One was a portly fellow that seemed to have been in quite the fight and the other well she seemed more likely to have been on the receiving end of a beat down with how she lay on the ground.

After a few more moments of looking at the pair he slowly made his way towards them as he made sure that the flames on his sword where extinguished before sheathing it. When he was within two meters of the pair he removes his helmet before placing his left hand on his chest and bowing his head slightly. "Pardon me for interrupting your conversation, but would you mind if I where to participate in it?"

While laying on the ground please with herself Layla continues to grin as her long pointed ears perk up at the sound of someone walking toward her. She had an idea who it might have been from the directions it was coming from. Her guessed was confirmed when she heard the voice of the boy who had been training across from her own spot. With a playful frown, she floated back up into the air while still laying flat before flipping to her stomach. "Nothing cheap about using something you have to win right? Hey there Hyght and thanks. Same to you, I see you're getting better with that shield." She said returning the smile as she looked up at the display screen. She didn't look at if before cause she was too in the moment but now was curious to compare score.

Layla Radcliff
HP: 52/100
AP: 150/200

"Damn." She said looking back toward Hyght. Although their numbers were vastly different it was easy to see she still had a lot more training to do. Since switching from the axe to the sword she still didn't have the different in weights down yet. So that made her a liability in a hunt until she got better. However, a sudden blast of flames would draw the bat girl out of her thoughts toward another young man. However, unlike them, this guy took out three bots with what looked like a dust attack, or was it his semblance? She couldn't tell but watched as he turned and walked toward Hyght and herself.

Moving to a more dignified sitting position in the air Layla was a bit taken back by the man manners. A bow? She thought to watch him. Was he some kind of knight or something. Most likely noble born, but he did seem nice at least. Unlike others, she had met over the years. "Oh! Umm no you're not interrupting. Well not really I guess." She said glancing over at Hyght then back at the man. "Just doing some training. I'm Layla Radcliff. Nice to meetcha." Said adding a smile to it.

((sorry it took so long =w= I'm lazy. Bad Layla!))

As Lyla's supine form lifted into the air Hyght still found himself in awe of it. The ability to fly seemed to be such a freeing thing. To be able to cast off the shackles of gravity for a short time and take to the skies as if they belonged only to you. The young baker had spent his entire life a slave to Remanant's gravity, like most everyone on the planet. He wondered what it would be like to feel true freedom like what Layla had. With her responses through, Hyght opened his mouth but the halo of flames roared to life just beyond his peripheral vision. As he turned to follow Layla's gaze he saw the dying embers of the fire and three downed training bots. Hyght cringed and knew the possible circuitry damage might not be fun to repair.

The cause of the flames was a young looking man with hair the color of freshly fallen snow. He wore close fitting pieces of color that looked as if they were the color of a dying furnace. Overlaying the armor was a blue piece of cloth, a tabard, of blue that seemed to fit with the red and somewhat blackened armor. The man moved with a warrior's grace, something he'd seen Bart have, as well as a majority of the student body at Syne. IT made Hyght one part envious and one part cautious, aware of the possible lethality the man might be able to produce. As the man grew closer he sheathed his sword and offered a low bow, one you might hear about in old stories. The offer might have made Hyght think the gesture was of a man out of time. Though it was hardly the first time he'd seen someone give a low bow in greeting. Something Hyght never did and found unnecessary.

The armored man requested permission to join their conversation and offered pardon if he had interrupted. Hyght glanced from the man to Layla as she replied with an affirmative and introduced herself. "I'm Hyght." He said simply, extending his hand to the armored man, whom now that he was closer Hyght noticed he stood almost a head over him. The young man had to be at least six feet and four inches, give or take. The height, mannerism, manners, and armor all made Hyght think of the knights from the old stories. Something he's been noticing about more and more people around Syne.

"Like she said. Feel free to join in. I was just giving her some pointers on how to take an ax blow." He said with a smirk twisting the corner of his mouth. "Speaking of axes. Layla, when did you swap to a rapier?" Hyght asked, now acutely aware of the absence of the faunus girl's heavy weapon.

Looking over the two Lothric gave them a smile before grabbing Hyght's outstretched arm and shook it a few times firmly he then attached the helmet onto his belt and folded both of his arms behind his lower back. "A pleasure to meet you miss Radcliff and master Hyght. I am Ser Lothric Ember" giving a short bow as he spoke Lothric then turned his attention towards the question of why Layla had switched from an ax to a rapier, an interesting question indeed not just because of the switch but also due to how different the two weapons where. An ax would rely on its weight as well as the power of the wielder while a rapier would focus on speed and precision, both dangerous but to switch from one to the other was a strange move to Lothric as their different styles was so foreign to each other that nothing would seem to be of benefit to the other.

"Hmm, oh and master Hyght I would advice you not to take the ax blow in the first place. Still it would be best to flow with the blow, of course should the opportunity present it self otherwise I would aim to parry at the handle. But if one where to use a shield the edge would perhaps be the best place to take the blow so that your arm does not have the potential to break upon the impact of the ax." giving a slight nod to his own advice Lothric gave Hyght a smile before turning his attention back towards Layla "Now miss Radcliff would you mind if I asked why you switched and if you would or need perhaps a few pointers about swordplay?".

For Lothric this seemed to be the best move towards perhaps gaining a few associates or even friends within the academy and these two seemed to be people that he could enjoy the company off and maybe learn something from them and to teach.

Holding up a finger Layla gave the two a smile allowing a flash of her fangs before talking. "Ding ding ding! Ser Ember is pretty close there." Allowing herself to drop back to the ground Layla would brush a bit of hair from her face tucking it behind her ear before continuing. "I had to change because of how much the ax limited me. As you might know an ax relay both on the user strength and weight as well as the ax own weight to attack with, but look at me!" She said suddenly holding both her arms out wide. "I weigh hardly anything and my sim makes it ever worse. I'm also limited by my size in ways to attack so I decided to swtch. Replacing strength with speed."

Reaching down she removed the sword from it home and holding it out before her as it guards formed at the split of the blade and hilt. "Besides, I think this fits me better, don't you think?" She said giving a warm smile toward the two. In truth, it had to do more with her life outside of school. As an ax was ideal for fighting Grimms and the sort, it was poor at fighting people. She knew one day her life goal would lead her one once again face off against the White Fangs and this time, it might be with steel than with songs. So she wanted to train in something that was more anti-people then just Grimm's.

Once more the girl would start floating in the air as she hears the man words. A Clear sign she was in a good mood. "Really!" She burst out. "I would gladly take you up on that! The training bots are helping, but my mindset is still on fighting with a heavy weapon than something this light." Looking down at the blade as she held it out sideway before herself.

At Ser Lothric's statement of avoiding the impact of an ax Hyght felt his shield arm pulse in remembrance. "Yeah..." He chuckled awkwardly as he rubbed his shoulder, "At that time I was far less experienced than I am now. Though I've made some progress I'm still far from where I feel I should be for this Academy." He gestured to both of them as if it would drive home his point. Hyght listened to the two Hunters as they spoke and nodded along. Layla's reasoning made sense, she did have a slim, if pleasantly curvaceous, frame and, while her limbs looked to be lined with ripcord like muscle, her light weight could be an issue when swinging around a heavy weapon such as her ax. Hyght's mind began to roll over possible modifications to her ax that could be used with her semblance.

"Maybe a type of mini propulsion device?" He muttered, his attention now on an invisible blueprint. "Maybe using wind Dust would help counter the heavy weight...that could help but would the heavy weight of the ax slow down her semblance? What if it-" Hyght suddenly realized he had been muttering and the two seemed to be done exchanging words. "Oh! Sorry, I tend to get a bit carried away with Dust and weaponry. Despite my very retro choice of weapons I'm a bit of a nerd when with comes to those." He shrugged, now a bit self conscious of his rambling.

"But yes, with your semblance and frame I would say the rapier could work out pretty well. Especially if the lighter weight means you can move faster when flying." Hyght gave a nod and turned to look at Ser Lothric. "I hope it isn't rude of me to ask but," he hooked his thumb at Layla as he spoke. "her semblance is flight-or maybe just levitation, but that flame earlier, was that Dust or was that your semblance?"

Lothric chuckled lightly at Layla's reaction to his request and found her enthusiasm to be quite infectious as he agreed on the point about the bots, they where good for training but not enough for a true sparring match. As he pondered a few training sessions and sparring matches and how best to teach Layla the things she would need he failed to notice Hyght's rambling before he excused himself for it. "Ah pardon not master Hyght, to speak about once passion in front of others only shows how much you care for it, and in truth to most that is all which matters." Lothric couldn't help but smile when Hyght began to speak about Layla and how the rapier would work with her frame and semblance and he couldn't help but agree on the subject.

Lothric focused his gaze onto Hyght when he asked him if his flames where of dust origin or simply his semblance, chuckling lightly Lothric turned around before walking a bit away from the two others before he said "Perhaps another demonstration of my certain touch will enlighten you further master Hyght."

With a single movement Lothric unsheathed his weapon before he pointed it at a group of five inactive bots. As he did the bots turned on and formed into an attack formation before they charged at him, as the closest of them reached him Lothric swung his sword in a circle going right to left as it touched the ground a few sparks where seen before the entire sword was ablaze in a great inferno. Continuing his swing Lothric leaped up into the air and swung the sword downwards still in a circle formation at the bot, as it connected with the bot after a few seconds Lothric cleaved the thing in two before using the momentum of his fall to spin around once swinging his sword and entire frame as he did. After the first ones fall two of the remaining four charged at him simultaneously trying to hit him from both sides, as they closed the gap Lothric unleashed a swing that he had built up from his spin the moment before and left a massive gash in the chest frames of both bots before sending them crashing into the ground.

Suddenly the three others surrounded him and as they charged in from each side Lothric let out a laugh as his swords tip touched the ground a pillar of fire erupted around him stretching a few meters in height and around 3 in width. The bots stopped their charge but before they could counter his move the pillar of fire burst into three lines of fire soaring through the air before connecting with the bots and surrounding them within a hellish inferno which only subsided when the bots seemed to fall apart due to the immense heat leaving only charred remains.

He then extinguished the fires around him before sheathing his sword and walking back over to Hyght and Layla stopping a meter away he bowed his head lightly before speaking. "Yes my semblance is Pyrokinesis the art of conjuring and controlling fire. Tho by mine display you can see mine mastery of it is quite substantial but alas the bots are not such a challenge after you figure them out, sadly fighting another is the only way to continue the path of knowledge."

"So what do you two think of my little display and I doth hope I did not over do the demonstration I would hate for you to think that I simply showed off."

He was there in that place again. That place of absolute focus where the world around him had faded and all that was left was himself and his objective. Roux had stanced up, hunching over as he coiled his massive sword tightly around and behind him, ready to swipe hard at whatever dared approach. Three drones circled him slowly just out of range of Bas Pushka, one missing an arm, all waiting for Roux to leave himself open to attack. There would be no way to strike at one without eliciting attacks from the other two and each was spaced far enough apart that a single swipe could not hit more than one. With a long inhale, Roux lunged forward, bringing his sword into a full arc, stalling right where his target had been before it jumped back as the other two drones charged forth to exploit his recovery; but, Roux was far from done. Using the left over momentum from the initial arc, Roux pulled his hind leg forward and pulled his sword into a second arc, catching the two advancing drones by their midsections. The arc went hard, cleaving the first drone in half, but only throwing the second drone to the ground nearby. Following up immediately, Roux raised his sword up into a right ochs stance, to maximize the swing of the overhead that followed, chopping the second drone in half.

The drone that had jumped back was alone now. Like an unwavering rock, it stood against Roux, sword at the ready, not a glimpse of fear in its eyes. Probably because drones aren’t capable of emotion. One left. One strike. Skewer him. Adjusting  his helmet, an orange glow started around him before centering on his back; and, from it, sprung a pair of fiery wings, even now fragmenting into the open air, appearing as if to be burning away. Roux rose, perhaps a meter off the ground before charging directly at the drone. With reach and speed in his favor, the match had been decided. His sword had found itself run through the drone. With nothing left to focus on, Roux began noticing things beyond himself again. Some distance away, there were three other students, chatting amongst themselves. About what, he could not tell. But then, the white haired one unsheathed his sword before dispatching a good five drones with fiery strikes before returning to the other two.  

Curious about their conversation and impressed by the show of skill, Roux kicked off the drone that still hanged on his sword before flying over with what little time he had left on his now shrunken wings. As he approached, he happened to just catch the last few things the white haired guy said. “Theatrics are only theatrics if they prove ineffective. As far as I can tell, you were pretty effective”. His wings vanishing entirely, Roux plops to the ground, landing hard. “Umph! Anyway, what are you guys talking about?”

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