Thread: A New Life: Cataclysm || ƒeral x Denna

Celes pouted, hair spilling over the bed as she rolled around on her bed, clutching the pillow close. She had just received Raine's message, and was not happy. 'I'm going to the gym after. See you at 9, sharp.' ' Raine never does anything fun with me. She's always so.... independent. Always having things her way. Well, I'll show her. I'm going to learn from Ryan before 9 tonight, and show her how strong I can be! ' Celes cuddled with her pillow, thinking of what Ryan had said. ' It's all about knowing how your opponent fights. ' is what he had said. She thought about Ryan, and his normal fighting style. He preferred quick attacks to engage, inflicting light hits until his enemy showed a weakness. He'd follow up with the ability he was teaching, slamming it into wherever the target was vulnerable. Maybe there was something about his timing... Celes grabbed her headset, and logged in. Ryan greeted her in his usual way, sword out and ready. Elayne summoned her own practice sword, and approached, intent on watching where and when Ryan would counter-strike. Ryan started out with his usual thrust, and Elayne tried her usual block. As expected, Ryan slipped past her guard, and struck her shoulder. She approached again, repeating the process several times. Elayne's shoulder was bruised and bloody by the time she managed to block his counter-strike, and her whole body was covered in bruises soon after, with Ryan shifting his attacks to other areas, making it harder to determine where he would strike. Then, it dawned on her. She was only moving to block after she saw where he would strike. What she needed to do was know where he would strike before he even began. Her practice had shown her what moves Ryan favored, and if she took the time to think, she could guess where he would strike next. Elayne struggled to her feet, blood spilling into the gritty sand of the training yard. She was exhausted, but she had him now. Elayne thought very carefully about how she would block his first strike. The angle she would block at, and the small side-step she took to re-direct the blow, all of that was passing through her mind as she prepared herself. Elayne knew what she would do, and she thought she knew what Ryan would do immediately after. He would change his target to her leg, breaking her stance. She grinned at Ryan, prepared to block his blow, then strike him down. Elayne stepped forward, blade already prepared to meet Ryan's. Ryan was grinning, and Elayne wavered, worried what he had planned. Ryan began his usual routine, nothing new but the small smile on his face. Elayne nearly froze, but she was determined to learn this ability before 9. She would not disappoint Riane. She met Ryan's stride, face grim with determination. Her blade flew to meet Ryan's, blocking his first strike. As expected, he switched his target to her leg, but she was ready. She almost missed her block as a strange red dot appeared on Ryan's shoulder. Elayne blocked Ryan just in time, then lunged forward, activating Blade Rush, a simple ability meant to deal damage, and set up for a combo. She struck true, and Ryan reeled back, staggered at having his stance broken. Several more red dots appeared across Ryan's body, pointing to further weaknesses in his stance. Elayne grinned. This was what she was looking for. The red dots were openings in her enemy, spots where she had already thought might be good targets for a counter attack. The system seemed to show what she already knew, and Elayne was beginning to worry that the ability was a waste of time. How would red dots help her, when she already knew they were good targets? Elayne didn't have time to fret, as the red circles began to disappear while Ryan regained his footing. Elayne rushed forward, blade slicing the air as she thrust towards Ryan's wrist, using Hamstring to slow his attacks with that hand. The red circle burst open, and a huge reduction in Ryan's attack speed was applied. Far more than her usual Hamstring applied. Elayne now saw what the red dots provided. If she saw an opening in the enemies' stance, she could strike it for additional effectiveness. No swinging her sword over and over to hack an enemy down, but thoughtful precision, aiming to strike an opponent at their weakest points. Elayne quickly backed up, not wanting to hurt Ryan too much. Training could still be dangerous, especially with Ryan. He grinned, nodding his appreciation. He whistled as he looked at his wrist, shattered and bloody from the single strike with a practice sword. Elayne imagined what she could have done with a real sword. You've got the technique down, I see. Now, you just need practice. Ryan grudgingly acquiesced, bowing before moving to his table, and wrapping his injury in a salve. Elayne giggled, thoughts spinning at the implications. She wanted to test the ability out more, to see just how useful it was, and how much of an increase it gave her abilities when she struck a weak point. She figured it would be best to stick to enemies she was most familiar with. A wicked grin spread across her face as she thought of a certain kobold who needed to be taught a lesson. It was a minute past nine, and Elayne was filthy. She had struggled to find the kobold with a bruise on its forehead, and had to wrestle through grime and filth to catch him, but Elayne had triumphed, and her abilities had proven incredibly effective against it. Elayne had watched the kobold for so long, she knew all of its habits and fighting styles. It had proven almost easy to defeat, openings appearing all over its body, leaving ample openings for Elayne to exploit. Now, she was rushing towards the gate, bloody, filthy, and filled with excitement. She had learned a new ability, and was going on a raid with Zel! Elayne caught sight of Zel's strange group, and rushed forward, blue and white blouse stained green and brown. She left muddy footprints on the cobblestones as she ran. Zel! I'm heeeere!