Log;

[judgementscythe]

 [Lorelai walks over to the wall of practice weapons in the Dojo. She begins picking through the stuff she knows one by one. She starts with the foil and does a few quick jabs before she moves on and grabs the scythe and spins it around a few times with a flourish.]

These are shockingly well balanced for practice weapons. So boy, weapons or hand to hand. Which would you prefer?

Comments

[judgementscythe]

[She starts walking to the middle of the room with the Scythe in hand] Four, the whip, bow, Scythe, and fencing foil. I've really tried to master something for any situation. And yeah I get you there, I tried training hand to hand with an old friend but it never really clicked that well for me. I'll introduce you to him sometime. He should be coming by soon.

[she drops into a fighting stance. Scythe gripped in both hands]

Don't hold anything back.

[flamesandfeathers]

[Hugo gives the practice sword a few swings. It's heavier than and longer than the dagger's he used to. But he's been meaning to branch out too, and the sword is the weapon of choice of his people. He tightens his grip on the sword.]

Right.

[He crouches low, and then lunges at Lorelai, exploding in a burst of speed, thrusting out with the sword]

[judgementscythe]

[Lorelai dives back and just barely pushes the sword out with the butt end of the scythe. She counters by using the momentum of the push to immediately spin the blade end back towards Hugo and starts pushing forward]

Good! Now let's see you stand up to this

[She takes a quick hop back and brings a hard swing in from Hugo's left]

[flamesandfeathers]

I had a good teacher.

[Back flips up, over the the scythe and away from Lorelai. Landing in a crouch he comes in low this time, aiming for her legs]

[judgementscythe]

[He squarely connects with his lunge causing her to trip. She catches herself with her scythe and pushes back again taking what looks like a defensive stance as a smile crosses her face]

Ha! Looks like I chose the right sparring partner.

[flamesandfeathers]

My instructor used pole arms. You're scythe isn't too much different, at least while we're sparring.

[Flips the sword to a reverse grip to add momentum and power to his strike, then does a one-eighty spin to add even more force and momentum to his strike]

[judgementscythe]

[expecting the move after the sword flip she shoots the butt end out between his legs tripping him out of the spin and then immediately spinning the scythe blade around with a quick swing]

You're telegraphing. Aren't quite used to the weight of a sword are you?

[flamesandfeathers]

No, used to daggers.

[Falls back and does a barrel roll a few feet back before getting on his feet and left hand, sword still in the reverse grip.]

Question for you. This Zerase woman, Caesar's having her look into a problem. How much can she be trusted?

[Straightens and charges]

[judgementscythe]

[She quickly sidesteps his charge once again spinning in a counterattack sending the butt end of her scythe towards Hugo's backside]

Slow down boy! You can't use a sword like a dagger.

Trusted? Her? You could trust her if the witch ever said anything. Which is something that will never happen unless it suits her. Even then I doubt she would ever say anything that could help.

[flamesandfeathers]

Apparently she offered her help to Caesar.

[Jumps up and flips over her landing in crouch with his back to her and swings his sword, back in reverse grip, behind him]

[judgementscythe]

Offered help? You mean spouting cryptic nonsense and barely helping in any actual way?

[She blocks his sword with the base of her scythe again and takes a wild swing towards Hugo in the frustration thinking about Zerase]

[flamesandfeathers]

No clue. She asked me a few questions, was intense. Like really intense.

[gets hit in the shoulder, and rolls forward away from her, gets to his feet and brings up the sword in a defensive stance]

[judgementscythe]

That sounds about right. Intense and constantly saying things without saying anything.

[She starts moving forward again staff spinning in front of her]

How has your Rune been? Has it lost control at all again?

[flamesandfeathers]

[Stands his ground, he's already gauged her defensive abilities, now he wants to see her offense]

It's been good so far.

[judgementscythe]

[She pushes forward slowly with simple strikes waiting for an opening]

That's good to hear. Your friend Caesar recommended I take that Nash fellow with me to the ruins. Can I trust him?

[flamesandfeathers]

[Blocks them before taking the the offensive again. He feints going in on the left before going right and low, attempting to get under her guard]

I don't really know Nash that well. You'd have to ask Chris, the Zexen Captain. She knows him better.

[judgementscythe]

[She plants the blunt on the ground blocking his sword then shoots it towards his chest]

I'll have to do that. It's good to see more people are looking into other angles of this. I didn't know if anyone else knew

[flamesandfeathers]

I don't know how much you'll find in the ruins that were destroyed by the Masked Bishop. Also, when you're on the Ancient Highway be very respectful of the Lizard Clan. It's part of their territory and they've been using it for years.

[Jumps up to avoid the blow, uses it to jump even higher, and using both hands, swings his sword down as gravity takes over]

[judgementscythe]

[The swing catches her hard on the shoulder.]

Uch!

[She pushes Hugo forward and jumps back into a defensive stance]

Thanks for the tip. I'll be sure to remember that. There are a lot of interesting people in this land it seems. Almost reminds me of home with the Beavers.

[flamesandfeathers]

You're welcome.

[Hugo grins and lands on his feet]

Beavers huh? Are they like-

[He doesn't a chance to finish what he's saying as True Fire chooses that moment to light the practice sword on fire.]

[judgementscythe]

Hugo?!

[Lorelai quickly drops out of any combat stance and cautiously begins approaching. The temperature of the room rising the closer she gets]

[flamesandfeathers]

Hold on!

[He dashes out the door, goes to the garden, looks around wildly, finds a pail that was filled with water, grabs it and dumps it on his burning hand. The fire goes out, but the sword is badly charred]

That's not good.

[judgementscythe]

[clearly concerned she drops the scythe completely and approaches Hugo]

It's getting worse isn't it?

[flamesandfeathers]

Looks like it is. [he sighs looking down at his Rune, which is still radiating heat]

[judgementscythe]

[She stays back a few feet. Any closer and the air around him is too hot]

Ok, Focus, see if you can get it under control. Do you not feel the heat around you?

[flamesandfeathers]

No, I don't. [Closes his and takes a deep breath, trying to stop his Rune from acting up]

[judgementscythe]

[She takes a step forward now that the heat had begun to dissipate]

Good, stay calm, take control. You are the Rune's master.

[flamesandfeathers]

[takes another breath and the heat waves stops rolling off if him.]

I don't know what happened.

[judgementscythe]

[She steps closer and puts an arm around his shoulder in an effort to comfort him]

We'll figure it out. We have to sooner than later before something really bad happens. Is it just you so far?

[flamesandfeathers]

I think so. None of the others I know. I'm not even sure if Luc has True Win--

[Snaps his mouth shut]

[judgementscythe]

Well that would certainly explain his attitude.

[smiles a little]

Whatever this is kid, we'll figure it out. I promise you that. I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking about a solution to this.

[flamesandfeathers]

Caesar's working on it. And Sierra's aware of something going on.

Thanks Lorelai.

[judgementscythe]

That's good to hear. I wasn't sure you wanted anyone to know so I kept me knowing vague around Caesar when we spoke. I guess I didn't have to.

[flamesandfeathers]

Oh. Thanks, but you don't have to worry about that. Everyone from Tinto to Harmonia, and even as far as Dunan, know I have True Fire. I never kept it a secret. Others like to keep theirs, and I respect that.

[judgementscythe]

Good to know. Still I thought it best to keep it to myself until I knew for sure.

[flamesandfeathers]

Thanks.

Sorry about setting things on fire.

[judgementscythe]

It happens.

[she squeezes down a little on his shoulder]

We'll pick this up again once we figure this out. I'm still one point behind.

[flamesandfeathers]

I think we all are.

[judgementscythe]

Good to hear. Come on let's get out of here and I'll treat you to lunch at the cafe

[flamesandfeathers]

Sounds good to me!