Of Chevaliers and Chatelaine's [Pvt]

It was rare to see Crux without rer armour. Normally she'd, just keep it on and use that as training, though she noted that she was growing slower. Weaker in strength and speed. Thus, she decided to go for a raw, physical bout. She wore a grey tanktop, showing off the sculpted muscles and her well defined features. And a similairily coloured, baggy track pants. The clunking of her metal was now replaced by the sound of a weight being pushed up and lowered again, silent counting under her breath. There wasn't much she could improve, having a body of metal and steel underneath the skin. Though there was always the experimentation. Knowing just what she was capable off at what cost.

A soft huff resounded as she finally hit the two-hundred mark, before pressing the massive weight up one last time with a soft grunt. Before clunking it up on the bench. Slowly pushing herself up. She turned on her feet and kept a foot on the benchpress, moving forward to screw some of the weights off. It'd topple over if she didn't.

As soon as she was certain the bench nor weights would come crashing down, she exhaled a soft breath, slicking her hair back and moving over to a small chair she had used to put her scroll and a towel on. The massive axe stood resting against the wall. The blade giving off a soft sheen in the light. She heard two sets footsteps behind her. An eyebrow arching.

"You're that Crux lass, aren't you?" She grabbed the massive axe, heaving the weapon and resting it on her shoulder. Veins bulging in her arm as she did so. "Correct. What do you want?" The two males infront of her exchanged a meaningful look. Before grinning. "To knock you off of your damn pedestal." The other fell in. They were carrying weapons as well. And a soft smirk appeared on her face. "Two against one?" A dangerous fire played in her eyes. "You'll need more than that."

Monika had been nearby coincidentally with a similar purpose in mind, though for her sake it was much more useful than perhaps for someone like Crux. Monika needed to maintain a strong visage, especially in her own eyes, because to be a hero was to first be a hero to yourself. To be anything less than at ones peak was simply an insult to oneself. For her, this meant training her entire body, and that meant that she was doing weighted pull-ups at a weight rack close by.

She didn't wear a dress like she normally would, obviously and was instead wearing a training tank that cut off and showed her midriff, as well as some workout shorts. Admittedly, it wasn't as conservative as she liked, however she did enjoy how little restriction she felt trying to move in these clothes, making them the most practical in her eyes.

Monika had been going for a while, this was her failure set after all, and her arms were turning into jello right about now. She pulled up, but was getting nowhere, so she dropped to the floor, clanking loudly as the plates attached to her waist smacked each other. She unclipped the belt and let them haphazardly fall at her feet, before pulling her arms a bit to try to stretch some of the fatigue away.

Moving around to the side of her rack, she squatted down and wrapped a towel around her neck. From here, she could actually see Crux readying a weapon, for what reason, Monika had no idea. Instead, she took a drink from her water bottle, and noticed that the gentlemen she was speaking with had weapons as well. She didn't want to act rashly, so she elected instead to watch for a moment, slowly nudging her sword from the wall next to her and closer to herself.

"We're ple-" Crux's foot rose up, kicking one of them back. The other moved up, before the blade of the massive axe was pushed up under his chin with surprising swiftness. "We have sparring rooms for a reason. If you want to fight me, head there." A soft grin appeared on her face, the same fire still dancing in her eyes. "If you want to rethink that choice, which would be the smart course of action. You run. Like the cowards I'm assuming you to be." The grin widened, yet her eyes cooled down. Now staring glacial daggers at the both of them, before pulling the axe back. "I'm even fatigued by training," she stated with an arched eyebrow, strapping the axe to her back.

"And even then, I promise you'll be collecting your teeth after I'm done," came the follow-up as she tightened the red cord around her torso, one hand moving to rest in the pocket of the baggy sweat pants. One of them spat on the floor. "You're on. Get to the training room," he snarled, moving to help his friend up.

Crux could only roll her eyes. "Fine, I'll be finishing up here," she turned to the chair. "Get warmed up, don't say your prayers," she pulled up a chained bible, flipping it open. "I'll be too busy to listen."

Monika listened in a bit and watched as Crux kicked one of the aggressors to the floor, and heard them as they discussed the training room. That gave Monika an idea for how to handle this, especially now that she had a good grasp on who was really the problem here in all of this. Grabbing her sword by the widest edge of the blade, she stood up and headed out the door before the group was even done talking.

She slid into the sparring chamber and elected to wait by the door for them to arrive, she really wanted to make a point here for these two. She waited for a brief few moments before their evident grumbling made their presence known, even before they stepped through the door. Grabbing her sword by the tip of the blade, she hooked the first one through the door around the neck with her cross guard, and yanked him directly into her shoulder. It reminded her a bit of dominoes, really, the way that she launched one into the other to send them both to the floor.

She threw her sword around her hip, grasping the blade below the cross guard and holding it as though there were a scabbard there for it all along.

"Hmm. T'is not so pleasant to be ambushed by someone while you are minding yourself I suppose? I wonder how that must feel, fortunately, you do though."

Monika walked right past the two boys to a more spacious area of the room, before twirling her blade around in a brief flourish as she planted the tip firmly into the floor so her hands were resting on the pommel in front of her.

"I don't know you, but I have no appreciation for bullies or troublemakers, particularly at a school for those that are meant to be protecting the populace and training for future deeds of heroism. You speak of knocking someone from a pedestal, and that is exactly my intent for the two of you until she arrives. Now stand and deliver children, unless of course you are afraid you won't quite 'measure up', if you will"

The first one, a rather short and lanky blonde was pulled into Monika's shoulder, before stumbling in the second redhead, feline ears flattening against his skull as he went down with a cry of surprise. The two looked up, faintly recognizing the same woman from the previous training room. One snorted and pushed himself up. "You-," he grabbed his friend's hand and spat on the floor. "You don't know that woman, else you'd be pickin' our side," the faunus nodded as he was pulled to his feet. A scowl visible on his face. They watched how Monika went to the middle of the room, challenging them.

The two momentarily exchanged glances, before one spat on the floor. The Faunus started to laugh. And the human fell in soon after a split second. "Do you really want to do this?!" One cried out behind his laughter. Both of them brandished their weaponry, ready to attack Monika at a moment's notice. The human seemed ready to attack. His knees slightly bent and ready to pounce, a serrated dagger in his hand. The faunus elected to play at a distance, with a bladed revolver at the ready. "Wait, what the f-" the human's jeans was grasped, followed by his neck. And he was pulled up roughly two meters in the air, before being tilted over the side and slammed down on the ground. Shoulders first.

"Seems like I have a teammate," she stated, glancing at the two, before at Monika. Her eyes cold and devoid in it's meaning. She was as likely as to garner a dislike for the knight as she was to develop a liking. She was neutral on the topic now. "You were in my way. And I respond in kind." She glared daggers at the two from over her shoulder. One rallying to pick up the other again. "Now. Which pedestal's foot did I need to slam your faces against?" She questioned as a soft grin formed on her lips. The straps of the axe loosened. And shown in it's full sheening, gold and metal glory. With a soft, fleshy thud, it came to rest on her shoulder. "Come on, then. I don't have all day," Crux fell in with an annoyed breath.

Monika did not speak for the moment. Instead, she kept her sword at her defenders position and rose a hand up, taunting them and beckoning them to assault her as she rose her chin up, appraising them with a glare and a look of condescension. "Deliver. Did I stutter?"

Then, of course did Crux enter in a very aggressive manner, one which would have ordinarily earned disdain from Monika, however, their actions have since proven themselves to be deserving of such roughness. Monika followed Crux with her eyes, almost placing a value on her as she did so. Her combat strength didn't matter much, but rather her moral acuity was to be questioned at all times.

Though something tipped Monika to look away and back to their 'would-be' opponents as she cracked her neck, gritting her teeth before swinging her sword up around her right-hand and into a two-handed grip. Her right hand was lower, while her left hand rested beneath the cross-guard, fitting perfectly so the blade was parallel with her forearm and aimed at her adversaries.

"Teach them respect." She muttered under her breath as she dropped her stance a bit and waited for one of them to make their move, content to wait for opportunity to come to her.

"With pleasure," Crux answered Monika. The anticipation dripping from her voice. She gave her ally a final glance, before rushing forward, headfirst into the heat of battle. Monika might've noticed the fire dancing in Crux' eyes as she did so. But judging from her movement, her rapid advancement. And the lifting of the massive, double bladed axe from her shoulder to raise it above her head. Pommel pointing to the enemy. A pose that exposed both her flanks, but one that allowed for swift strikes and advancements.

The duo nodded at eachother and the knife-bearing human dashed towards Crux, meeting her head-on. The Faunus took a step back and glanced around the room, narrowing his eyes, before lowering his revolver, holding it close to his side. Manually cocking the hammer, holding it trimmed on Monika. The sheen of dust visible on the cylindrical magazine. Yet he didn't fire, just hoping to keep her out of the fight.

Crux moved onward, before leaping upwards to deliver a pommel strike to the head, yet was evaded. A tremble going through the floor as she landed. The human was agile enough and had ducked underneath, aiming a jab at Crux' exposed side. He hit home and Crux' aura sparked at the impact. But a hand grabbed him by the throat and threw him over to Monika. "All yours!" Crux called out, before turning to the individual bearing the revolver, a borderline psychotic grin on her face.

The human thrown at Monika staggered momentarily, but recovered halfway and used the momentum to duck under her blade and aim to deliver a straight jab for her stomach.

Upon being stabbed, Monika gasped but instead of flinching, she pulled her left hand from her blade and gripped the aggressors wrist, and where she lacked physical carrying strength, she more than made up for in grip. She squeezed down, HARD, moving her face forward and glaring ice directly into his eyes while she held the blade in place, and folded his arm back over his shoulder and threw him backward, but not off his feet.

Instead, she grabbed a hold of the blade of her sword, and swiped him up the chin with the edge of her cross guard until it was resting atop her left shoulder, then shifting her grip from her handle so that both hands held it by the blade. She then hammered the weapon back down like an axe, and smashed down upon his temple with the pommel with all her might.

With the sword down at her right side, she grabbed the knife from her abdomen and wrenched it free, tossing it toward his feet before flourishing her own blade and planting it into the floor, once again resting her hands on the pommel. Not having moved a single inch from where she stood before, and raising a hand to once again beckon her adversary from her arrogant position.

The Faunus rose his pistol, his body dropping in a low pose as her shot a fire, sparking off of her axe. The pistol made a swift flick in his hand, before he readied another shot, firing it in Crux' abdomen this time. Her axe was raised and a soft breath knocked from her, but the massive android didn't even consider being winded by the strike. The pommel jab was swift, yet once again, her foe was faster. Though this time, she saw the dash and attempted raze for her side coming. Swiftly turning on her feet, she took her haft in both hands and caught the Faunus in it. Pulling him closer while smacking her own head forward, shattering his nose with tremendous amounts of force. The faunus staggered back into the axe's shaft. Crux loosened one hand and picked him up, abdomen on her shoulder, before tossing him down behind her back.

After all, she had noticed how Monika was stabbed. And it angered her. Fire started to slowly fume on her shoulders, before forming into a brimming set of wings. Flaming with the rage she now possessed. She did not look kindly upon the escalation of this duel.

The blonde was knocked off of his feet due to the battering strike of Monika's handgaurd. Before scattering back to his feet, holding his knife up towards her. Ready to strike again. Though not if Crux had any say in it. A tremendous backhand slammed against the side of his head. The force behind him causing him to stagger on his feet and turn around. Though he flung the knife underhand, embedding deeply into her abdomen.

Her aura sparking, a trickle of blood following. By then, her hands had a proper grasp on the axe positioned avoce her head again. A pommel strike to the side of his neck ensuing. Causing the blonde student to crumple to the ground, orange aura sparking, before dissipating. "Repent in hell's flames," Crux groaned out, the fiery wings on her back extending. The blade of her axe set ablaze all of a sudden. Pushing the axe down, before pulling it up and extending the massive flaming head high in the air, she aimed to slam it down again with a tremendous amount of momentum. It wasn't a duel anymore. It was an execution. The gold crest that connected the blades to the haft sheening in the fire of Crux' wings. Her face had adopted a look of searing hatred, eyes alight with the same flame billowing from her shoulderblades.

The ensuing blow was aimed for the blonde student, who just whinced on the ground. And would take his head if not stopped.

Monika stood perfectly still for a moment as she stared daggers at her adversary, garnering no flinching nor even a hint of discomfort from the events that had just transpired, despite being glad that there had been no fabric for the knife to tear. Her wounds healed as she rose her aura and allowed it to do its job, however, during this time Monika would wince slightly as she empathized with the boy as he was liberally backhanded by surprise.

She did not move, not until she noticed that Crux herself had been stabbed in a similar fashion, prompting her to kick her blade up into her hands and advance to aid her comrade. Though she was interrupted by Crux finishing the skirmish herself with a strike from the haft of her axe. Monika assumed that that was that, but was instead greeting by startling confusion as Crux rose her weapon once more, igniting it in pale flame.

Even more startling was the realization that crossed Monika's mind as the world passed in slow motion for a brief moment, kicking off her foot and starting to run forward. If she hadn't already been moving this way, she might not have made it in time, and just barely made it beneath the weapon as it was mid-swing, evident panic written in her eyes as her hair messed and she rose her blade horizontally above her.

There was a deafening clash and a resounding ring as metal struck metal, but she did not budge even despite the heat of the flames. No inch was given, and even with the panic on her face, her knees did not even bend. There was a long pause until Monika slid forward beneath the haft of the axe until she was able to put her sword broadly across Crux's chest and roughly shove her away, backing up herself until the back of her thigh made contact with the downed boy.

Her stance was low, and her sword was held in an askew fashion which caused the blade to be held closely to herself, crossing from shoulder to shoulder across her features. She spread her stance wide, almost standing possessively over the boy. She quickly glanced at the one that had the revolver, not wanting to look away from Crux for long. "Take him. Leave. It's done."

She spoke quickly before looking back at Crux and staring, far more composed than she'd been a moment ago, and whispered to herself. "This is NOT why you're here."

It took the ringing of metal for Crux to awaken out of the muderous intent that had captivated her. She blinked momentarily, only putting one and one together after it was Monika who shoved her back. The knight, clad in just sports wear, slowly lowered her axe. Panting softly as she lowered her axe again. The attacker got to his feet, grasping his friend. "You-... You're mad! You don't belong here!" He shouted at Crux, before running out, leaving the rather nightmareish scene behind with his friend in tow.

Crux, who glanced at the indvidual speaking, just shook her head and turned back to Monika, raising the axe to have it rest on her shoulder. A moment of silence, hearing the barely audible whisper from Monika. "Why?" Crux questioned, rolling her shoulder. "They harmed you, they harmed me," a soft smirk spread across her face. "And yet, you risk yourself under a strike of mine, to save them. Why?"

Monika glanced seriously at the boys as they made their leave. Even if no one died here, it was till pretty obvious that the situation wasn't going to end here. There were going to be consequences for what just happened, no matter how anyone could spin it.

"Ignorance and malice are two very different ideas. The dog that bites when she feels threatened is in no way deserving of the same treatment as a man that knowingly intends to kill and cause pain." Monika dropped her sword to her side and slid it slightly behind her, this stance was more offensive and would allow her to press an attack if need be. "Harming the foolish innocent is not the mark of a hero, tis the mark of one that has so lost touch with reality that they are undeserving of anything but scorn from true heroes. So I would not let that come to be and stopped you."

Crux was silent during Monika's explanation. An eyebrow arching as she lowered the axe to the floor, Monika's pose betraying her distrust. A stance she could use to easily jump back into combat again. But was it something she had to percieve a challenge? Or was it just a measure of safety? Earlier encounters with other individuals made her lean to the latter. And she could let it slide. Unlike the two weaklings that thought challenging her was a fit idea, this individual seemed to elect caution.

"Intruiging," Crux only answered whilst she exhaled a soft, shivering breath. Holding up her hand, a fire flakkering in it before the chained tome appeared again, slapping open on it's own accord. Glancing at Monika momentarily before looking in the book for... Guidance? A gesture? It was an answer that wouldn't be answered. Since just seconds later, the book slapped shut again and was turned to ashes again. "Yet t'is not the threatened dog that challenged me today, they were naught but two flopdoodles, poking the Ursa and not expecting her to devour them." A grin spread across her face. "There is an obvious line between a threatened dog and an insignificance hoping to fulfill their delusions of grandeur." Crux exhaled another soft breath as she lowered her axe. Resting it against the wall and holding up her hands.

A gesture of disarmament. She moved closer. "Though regardless, I do not forget those who came to my aid. Even if unnescessary, you have my gratitude." When she got close enough. She pressed a hand against her chest and bowed lightly. "Crux Harmaa, my apologies you were harmed in this short skirmish. T'was my fault."

Suddenly, Monika swung her sword up in a slight toss, spinning the blade before her face with a metallic hum before she swung her arm and caught the handle with a reversed grip. The tip came slamming down before her once more as she elected to rest both of her palms against the end of the pommel, shortly before raising one to point at the door. "And now they have been granted the privilege to take this lesson and better themselves, as was my intention all along. Thus why I allowed myself to be stabbed without raising my aura."

Her words were only accentuated further by the pale blue ring which silhoutted her form and began to slowly knit the gash in her abdomen shut. "For it is better to prove one's resolution through fortitude than cruelty. An action guided by enmity is no action of a hero, as my grandfather would have put it."

The fighter would then relent with a sigh as she haphazardly tossed her sword off to the side to prove her own trust. "Monika of house Sonnejager, or simply Monika if you wish, it matters not." Only after finishing her introduction would she place her hands on her hips as she awaited a response.

"A privelege they hadn't earned," Crux answered with a soft grunt, either from annoyance or coming down from the rush of adrenaline. "But, alas, I shan't weep over spilt milk," she added with a shrug. Moving over to grasp her axe, thumping the pommel against the ground and holding it next to her. A soft breath as she rolled her shoulders, glancing down at Monika. "I'm no hero," the woman stated with an arched eyebrow. Before shaking her head. "I will defend those un- or ill able to defend themselves, I will aid the weak and disadvantageous, but I will spare no mercy for the wicked. Mercy, after all, is a measure wasted on the dimwitted ones."

She smirked, rolling her free shoulder again. "But, I need to express my gratitude for stopping me regardless, I must admit, I would have been in a rather... Annoying situation if you didn't." A soft sigh as she inclined her head, relenting at last. Monika did have a point after all. And while she would've loved to make heads roll, it would be ill advised to do so. Her lack of self control had been stopped by the other woman.

"Thank you, for stopping me," Crux concluded again, before letting out a bitter scowl. And a soft, yet mirthless chuckle.