St. Azazel's Academy Training Grounds [T|O]

[Deleted]

Point Blank Shot
Rank: "D"
Skill: TaiJutsu/Supplementary
Effect: A technique that gives the user greater proficiency within the range of 10 meters.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: With this technique the user has learned how to combat against opponents within 10 meters without fear or fumbling with their weapon. They gain the courage and ability to perform combat without much effort. This is a prerequisite technique for more popular techniques. What good is an Marksman if they are not ready to battle while in close range.
Limit: Must be a Marksman.

[ 0 | 10 ]

---

'Twas afternoon at St. Azazel's Academy, but the sky was so thickly coated in cloud that it may well have been dusk. The Academy's south-eastern flank (furthest from the cliff faces) harbored wide, open grounds ringed with training dummies, sheds of equipment, archery ranges and fenced arenas; it was the place where theory became practice. Lucrezia always looked forward to the days when her education brought her to this corner of the Academy; actually getting your hands dirty (shooting, slashing, sparring) was always more intriguing than simply reading about how to do it, especially having done as much of that as she had.

The gloom of the day suited Lucrezia just fine: Despite her to-be profession, the darkness had always suited her. In fact, perhaps that was a thing of fortune, considering where her prey was like to hide. The girl was dressed in the attire she had previously reserved for the field: A form-fitting navy cat-suit and accompanying brown cape, with her signature red glasses - opaque to the outsider - worn over her similarly colored eyes; her long dark hair was braided as per usual, and boots and gloves of brown leather both covered her feet and hands. Ants played with swords in the far distance behind the young woman, but this corner of the grounds were occupied by a crowd of only one. That was meant to change, however.

This day - the day when the Academy finally granted you a partner, along with enough trust to take up contracts of your own with said comrade - had been a long time coming, though naturally it dallied longer for most than it had for the Academy-born Lucrezia Accosi. In fact, her chosen partner - a man by the name of Victor Vestaldt - was a full two years her senior. Tempting as it was to be haughty about the fact, Lucrezia had made sure to remind herself that not all those who joined St. Azazel's had been as privileged as she. Lucrezia had seen the man about, to be sure, but she had hardly made his acquaintance - this would be more or less the first time she had talked to him, at least as far as she could remember.

It was perhaps a peculiar system, but it made sense when examined: rather than leave rookies to venture against the horrors the Academy was sworn to purge, recruits were forced into pairs as a precursor to true graduation, where they learned a new, invaluable lesson - that lesson being teamwork. It was also not as though the selection was random - either you were paired with somebody whose skill-set complimented your own, or else with someone whom you had already shown to be able to co-operate with.

Lucrezia imagined this case was the former. She could not think of a time when she displayed a particular affinity towards any of her peers - certainly never for this Vestaldt person.

Another article of this selection process was where the duo met for the first time; in the corner of the training grounds where the sparring arenas were located, at a time when most (if not all) other recruits were studying indoors. Supposedly, the Academy believed that the first step to trusting a fellow warrior was to fight them yourself.

Lucrezia also reckoned she believed this - somehow, she seemed to recall Victor had some aspiration to the title of Arbiter, and she had observed that he was more of a melee fighter than anything else. It would certainly be interesting to see how her strengths matched up to his. Lucrezia's own inclinations were made brutally obvious by the forty-pound draw-weight pistol crossbow she was currently fiddling with in her right hand and the quiver attached to her belt, which housed a full hundred-and-fifty broad-head, razor-blade fletched bolts of fine, balanced craftsmanship, and also the way she was hovering about one of the ranges. True to form, her parents hadrecommended she turn up a full half an hour early to the occasion to ensure she was warmed up for the session. Despite being an unobserved occasion, Lucrezia knew her family would be thoroughly disappointed lest she did anything but trump her new partner on their first meeting.

Presently, Lucrezia concluded the routine check of her crossbow, and leaned down to fetch at one of the wooden practice bolts she had retrieved from the side of the range. She had set herself up directly before one of the shortest-range firing alleys; the dummies stood only ten meters from the firing line. If one progressed to the left, the distance of the dummies grew incrementally in groups. Truthfully, though she could easily have chanced at hitting further targets and despite the girl's fondness for the crossbow, she had hardly ever had the opportunity to use the weapon, and could only really guarantee a hit at this distance. Most of her knowledge was, unfortunately, purely theoretical.

Still, theory helped; with the bolt carefully loaded, Lucrezia eased the crossbow up so it was horizontal to her shoulder, gripping it at the base with her opposite hand for increased steadiness - the Venator initiate was aware that this basically defeated the point of the pistol genre of crossbows, but thought she might as well use the assistance for the first shot of the afternoon. Her head tilted in towards the weapon, and she closed her left eye invisibly behind her red-tinted spectacles. A thousand readings, drills and spoken words flowed through her mind.

The girl knew the crossbow to be far less artful than the more standard bow, but the crossbow was reliable and efficient in its mechanization - more alignment with what Lucrezia wished to be known as, and the kind of results she wished to produce. Whether as the action of nocking, drawing and loosing with a bow was a far more personal, involved process, with feeling and connection - comparable almost to the way that a swordsman used a blade - the crossbow was all cogs and guaranty, with the only involvement being pointing and pulling the trigger. Lucrezia had experienced drawing a bow before; how the bow protested, how the arrow yearned for release. With the art of the crossbow she had later taken up, the only potential to be felt was in the resistance of the trigger.

Still, to see Lissandra Accosi shoot such a weapon, one would have retracted everything said previously. Lucrezia drew no small amount of inspiration from her mother.

Still, there in the moment, Lucrezia stared down her own weapon, lining up the wooden projectile with the straw-filled humanoid that was her target. Convenient red circles were drawn upon it in critical locations, though they were not incredibly specific and were utterly unneeded. It occurred to Lucrezia as she noted the absence of the usual glimmer of a metallic arrowhead that the wooden missile may well shoot with entirely different balance to her own bolts, so she compensated by tilting her weapon up ever so slightly. Her target was simply the chest; nothing overly precise.

The resistance previously mentioned was felt as she pressed experimentally on the trigger, not quite ready to loose. Confirming indeed that there was sufficient tension there, the girl took a deep breath - she had always been told to fire on an outward breath. Exhaling through tan-painted lips, Lucrezia fired. The crack of the crossbow string was followed up by the zipping rush of the bolt and the subtle tearing of hessian fiber as the projectile found its mark. Lucrezia eased her stance and brought her left hand up to remove her glasses - with the absolute clarity of her naked eye, she reckoned with the result. Terrible form - the shot was off-center, lo the left of the chest and far too low, despite the compensation she had applied.

The only negative reaction being a second, emphasized exhalation, the girl set her glasses back into place and leaned down again to retrieve a second bolt, and loaded it in a far less patient - though hardly less precise - fashion, and replaced the crossbow at her shoulder. Again, she tilted her head down to line the shot up better. Thoughts of Victor Vestaldt and his supposed momentary arrival had left her mind at this point, relevant only in the way that, if she could not hit a stationary target at ten meters, how could she ever hope to prove her strength?

Aiming with certainty, this time, the girl allowed an extended period of deliberation before firing - though not too long, for Lucrezia knew that dallying long encouraged self-doubt and oft produced worst shots than raw intuition - and loosed again. Higher, 'twas, this time, and closer to the center, but it still looked like a shot to the kidney. The woman huffed a little high-pitched huff and leaned down again to take up a bolt.

Perhaps if Victor arrived any time soon, she would claim to have been aiming for the kidneys.

[/div]

[Penitence]

Kuma Tsume - Hogo (Bear Claw - Block)

Rank: “D”, “C”, “B”, “A”, “S”

Skill: Taijutsu

Effect: Allows the user to effectively block corresponding ranks of attacks with their shield.

Special: Effective while in fully-formed Bear Claw Stance.

Drawback: Shields used with this technique will still be damaged according to item breaking laws if the attack being defended is higher than the user’s knowledge of this technique. Less effective against non-impact based Ninjutsu. May be bypassed by all-encompassing area-of-effect attacks.

Description: With training and raw physical strength the user learns the basic principle of how to block attacks with their shield. Standing steadfast, the user will simply place their shield between themselves and the threat, nullifying it with forward fortification and, if executed properly, stopping the attack’s power. The user is only able to remain on their feet and have their shield undamaged by attacks of equal or lower rank to the rank of this technique the user possesses.

Limit: “Bear Claw Stance”.
[0/30]

-:-

'What to wear?'

It was such a strange thought for someone like Victor Velstadt to have running through his mind, he wasn't particularly fashion oriented, he didn't have a wide variety of clothes, and he wasn't overly worried about his personal appearance, especially for a training bout. But this was the first time he would transition from fighting in the pits against faceless trainers, to fighting against someone he would actually come to know. More to the point, it was the first time he would fight against someone who's face he could see.

He had been told time and time again that being able to watch your opponent's expression as you fought them gave you some kind of insight into their actions, but honestly he was more nervous of being distracted. He was fighting against a girl you see. One did not learn how to deal with the opposite sex when in training. And he had never really had the chance as a young teen. So this was going to be one of the few instances where he would be out of his comfort zone.

That said his typical method of combat more or less revolved around wearing his opponent down, letting them smash up against his defenses and tire themselves out before striking a decisive blow. But would his full battle plate be acceptable in the bout? Should he just wear training leathers? Would his opponent be using headed bolts?

Hence his predicament. The irony of going to meet a young woman, and being worried about he was going to wear, but not because of appearance but rather for safety's sake, was not lost on him. In the end he decided on armor, he could always take it off if need be, but he would look like an idiot if he arrived without it. Huffing slightly with the effort he began to don his battle plate.

-:-

The journey from his barracks in the residential quarter of the academy to the partner's sparring area was somewhat long winded. He had to wend through several buildings that stood in his way and did his best to greet those who he met respectfully.

He met a mixture of people on the way, some veteran Venators who barely glanced at him, some trainers who nodded in recognition, and a few recruits who shied away from the tall man in behemoth like armor, even with his shield harnessed on his back and his helm fastened to his belt he was an imposing figure. The sword hanging from his waist probably didn't help.

It was a good thing the day was cool, if the sun had been out he would have been cooked in his plate by the time he reached the place, let alone be ready to fight. The Arbiter Battle Plate was something he was extremely proud of but it could be a nuisance on occasion. An even half hour after he set out he laid eyes upon his new partner for the first time.

She was practicing at the range nearby and Victor winced as a bolt from her crossbow landed just a bit shy of the center mass of the dummy's chest. Those bolts were sharpened, he was thankful he brought his armor. The girl was a bit shorter than he had expected, and younger too. They didn't give him anything more than her name, Lucrezia Accosi. He was apprehensive about the meeting, the last person the academy had tried to partner him with had nearly taken his head off in the fight, and had ended up in the infirmary with eight shattered ribs when Victor shield bashed his chest. Not a good first meeting, he never saw the man again.

He hoped he never landed a blow on this slight girl, he feared he would shatter her into a million tiny pieces if one of his attacks actually connected. She was tough by the look of her, a certain strength of form that suggested a lithe athletic build, but he was still wearing full battle plate and had a shield that weighed almost ten kilograms on it's own. No one came out looking pretty after being hit by him.

He went over the motions of combat in his mind, defense versus offense, stamina versus aggression, patience versus alacrity. He was still about fifty meters away and felt that she was absorbed in her practice, and that it would be rude to disturb her. So instead he unharnessed his shield and lowered it to the ground, resting it against his leg as he checked the straps and buckles that held his colossal suit of armor together. He often wondered how the armorer had managed to make the suit so comfortable despite it's size.

One of his gauntlets was loose so he re tightened the straps that held it to his wrist while he checked the chest strap that held his combat knife. The weapon was eight inches long and was rather thicker than one normally saw. Most people used knives to punch between armor plates that thier other weapons couldn't get through. But he used his shield for the task, battering his more heavily armored opponents into submission with blunt force trauma. His knife was designed for a single finishing blow, used to finish of a fallen enemy to get them out of his way.

The practice had been suggested to him by one of his trainers who saw too many recruits trying to execute fallen foes with a sword and blunting the tip on the ground. At a pinch he could use the weapon in close quarters, but it was rather unwieldy and the hilt was designed for deep biting stabs rather than slashes. Like before, he fervently hoped he wouldn't need the weapon.

As the Arbiter closed the cinch on his right pauldron, closing it slightly tighter to his shoulder, he wondered how exactly this fight would go. He doubted the crossbow his partner was using could even penetrate his armor even with the broad heads, and he figured that if he actually landed a blow on this slight archer he might kill her immediately.

That said he rather doubted that the academy would pit him against someone who wasn't able to spar with him in any kind of meaningful fashion, perhaps he would just end up as a live target dummy for her. He drew his sword, swinging it about in familiar arcs to reassure himself that the reliable weapon was as it seemed to be before sheathing it again, he felt safe with that rod of steel in his hands, powerful even, but the feeling of power it gave him worried him a little. It worried him that he would become one of the people he sought to persecute.

Victor rolled his shoulders, feeling the plate settle and shift back into it's comfortable locations. The pauldron immediately slipped back to it's previous location and the young man rolled his eyes slightly before picking up his shield and slipping his gauntlet covered arm through the straps, testing the torsion. Satisfied he again slipped the heavy metal slab back onto the harness on his back and detached his helm from his belt. The stylized plumes were a bit much he thought for perhaps the hundredth time as he slipped the stifling helm over his padded coif and checked the straps that would connect it to his armor to lighten the load of the four pounds of metal. It was a flashy object that was supposedly for striking the fear of the venators in his opponents eyes. But he doubted it would have any effect on another venator.

Happy with the fit he removed the helm and held it under one arm as he turned back to his erstwhile partner and found that she had already noticed him. Smiling his easy, cocky smile he approached, his heavy boots making plumes of dust rise from the sparring square floor. He fancied he could feel his teeth juddering with every step. When he was twenty meters away he raised his left hand in greeting.

"Sister Accosi? My name is Brother Arbiter Victor Vestaldt. A pleasure to meet you."

[Deleted]

Before she could nock the bolt, however, Lucrezia thought she caught sight of something in her peripheral vision. She glanced up the subtle incline back towards the Academy, finding a gargantuan figure in her line of sight. Victor had always been tall - not only taller than her, which was to be expected, but taller even than most men - but the white-and-gold plate metal in which he stood inflated the magnitude of his size till he looked positively enormous. Lucrezia's vermilion eyes widened behind her glasses; fortunately, they were very, very opaque glasses. As per previous mention. The only thing not covered was his face.

The girl stood holding her pistol crossbow and single, homeless bolt as Victor approached, smiling self-assuredly. Lucrezia had her expression (and self) composed swiftly; swiftly enough that she had time to understand that his expression gave impressions that Lucrezia found irksome. As a result, she frowned, still standing half-turned away from him. He raised a gauntlet-clad arm to greet her. "Sister Accosi? My name is Brother Arbiter Victor Vestaldt. A pleasure to meet you," He said. At least his voice was not near as off-putting as his expression. Lucrezia was not sure she had expected to be greeted so formally, but then, how had she expected to be greeted? It either made him sound haughty or sycophantic; she could not yet decide which.

The girl raised her glasses up to her hairline before replying with the hand that contained only a bolt in it, half because it was polite, half to ensure she was getting a good look at him. Her expression openly displayed her investigation, which was perhaps not as diplomatic, but Lucrezia was either oblivious or uncaring. She struggled to summon a courteous mirror. "Brother," She acknowledged, glancing away momentarily. Ostensibly he already knew her name if he addressed her by it; no need for her to repeat it. "A... pleasure as well. I look forward to working with you." Well, that was true enough. At the very least, she looked forward to the licenses that working in his presence would afford her. In fact, if she could think of him that way she might become far more congenial.

"That is quite the suit of armor," She remarked genuinely, then, turning to face him fully.

[Penitence]

Victor let his hand fall back to the hilt of his sword. Then, realizing that it probably looked threatening, dropped it to his side, then felt like an idiot, but there was no where else for it to go, putting a hand on hip in armor looked patently ridiculous so he left it where it was. For the first time he got a good look at the younger girl as he approached. The cat suit she was wearing was, for want of a better phrase, form fitting, and he had to fight to keep his expression in it's normal tones and his eyes locked to hers.

He thought he might have managed it, just, okay maybe he twitched a bit.

She looked forward to working with him? He doubted that somehow judging by her barely civil greeting but he chose not to comment. Ice breaking was always awkward and he was thankful for her comment about the armor, it would get things moving. It didn't help that commenting on her clothing would be most inappropriate.

As for that barely civil greeting; her expression and words were at odds with one another and he thought he could detect a barely veiled sneer in her voice. He thought little of it though, he had done a bit of asking around and apparently she came from a wealthy family. Haughtiness usually came with the territory. He responded with an easy tone with which he tried to convey his sense of light humor.

"It is a bit much this armor isn't it? It fits me well enough though. Have you been here long? You looked absorbed in your practice when I arrived."

[Deleted]

"It is a bit much this armor isn't it? It fits me well enough though. Have you been here long? You looked absorbed in your practice when I arrived." 

At least he didn't take himself too seriously, which was a relief. At this point, Lucrezia felt fine reapplying her glasses; thus, she did so, turning away from Victor, bending to slot the practice bolt back in with its brothers before standing and kicking the quiver so it slid over to one of the white fence-posts that separated the firing alleys. Then she turned back to him. "I haven't, no," Came her short answer, at long last. She adjusted her glasses with her empty, gloved hand. "But yes, rather absorbed. I heard you wore armor, so I was focusing on shooting for the area where there is oft a gap between breastplate and leggings," She said, with a sickly sweet affectation. The girl was smiling pleasantly. It was so delightfully easy to fake expressions while wearing opaque glasses.

Lucrezia was suddenly unsure where that little show had come from. Perhaps he had seemed momentarily weak, and she had naturally pounced on the vulnerability. In any case, it wouldn't do for Victor to persist in the delusion that she was actually that sinister. She chuckled to dispel the illusion. "I'm joking. Those are poor shots," She revealed. Hopefully he would have been appalled enough at her previous statement that he would have time only to be relieved and not understand too well that she had failed miserably just now.

"We're meant to fight one another, Victor," She also addressed, more seriously now. There was a hint of concern in her voice as she looked him over again from the base of her height disadvantage. "You seem slightly better equipped for it... and that sword is rather large. Still, providing you agree not to kill me, I will duel with you."

[Penitence]

The comment about her aim threw him slightly. On the one hand he wanted to grin at her willingness to adapt, that was a most favorable trait to have in their world. On the other hand he nearly laughed at her thinking that he would ever leave such a vulnerable part of his armor open to attack when he had such a reliable shield. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately depending on your point of view, she carried her statements further before he had a chance to respond.

Her self deprecating remark that followed made him frown, she was young, and only recently would she have had any real time behind her crossbow. It made sense that her accuracy was currently unreliable. It gave him an idea for their bout to come. Again she led him into the topic with aplomb.

"It's probably not a good idea for us to fight openly, if you score a lucky shot in a weak point in my armor I could sustain a serious injury, and there is every chance that if I actually land a blow with my shield or sword that you would crumple like a rotten wicker basket. Instead I propose a game of sorts. You will attempt to tag me with your crossbow, a shot that lands on my body will count I think. And I will go and collect a wooden practice weapon from the racks and with it I shall attempt to tag your body with it. We can have many bouts in this way as opposed to the single bout it would be likely for us to have if we fought each other with full furor."

[Deleted]

"Instead I propose a game of sorts. You will attempt to tag me with your crossbow, a shot that lands on my body will count I think. And I will go and collect a wooden practice weapon from the racks and with it I shall attempt to tag your body with it. We can have many bouts in this way as opposed to the single bout it would be likely for us to have if we fought each other with full furor."

Well, that seemed slightly more reasonable, Lucrezia supposed. She shrugged. "That makes sense," She conceded, though this plan unfortunately meant she would have to retrieve the quiver of wooden bolts she had so unceremoniously disposed of only moments ago. Without another word, she moved over to where it lay sorry and abandoned in the grass, unfastened her own quiver from her belt, set it carefully down against the white post and took up the holster of surrogate bolts instead. While Lucrezia's own quiver contained a full hundred and fifty projectiles, this one likely housed less than fifty - two less even than whatever that number happened to have been, for Lucrezia's earlier practice.

Wearing the hip quiver of timber projectiles felt slightly degrading, but it was not as though the Venator was like to complain. "Shall we move to the more formally designated sparring pits, or are you confident with the openness of this space?" She inquired mildly, while exerting the considerable strength it took to load one of the bolts into position; obviously, open spaces were auspicious for a ranged participant, while the enclosed, sanded pits, none more than twenty meters in diameter, would give the melee fighter an advantage. In the distance, the single class of students that had been practicing sword drills were being herded back up to the Academy proper. The area began to feel even more vast.

"Your choice, Brother. I will make do."

[Penitence]

While Lucrezia acquired her practice ammunition Victor moved over to the racks of wooden weapons and carefully divested himself of his scabbard and sword before leaning them somewhat reverentially against the racks. In his hand he took up a weighted practice sword and moved back to the center of the area where Lucrezia was already waiting. Her offer of the choice of arena surprised him but in the end it didn't matter where they fought to him.

She looked assured of herself and Victor could sense the subtle manipulations of a verbal trap, armed and forewarned he walked right into it.

"The open ground suits me fine. I'd rather begin now than relocate, besides, I am at advantage as we are anyway. You'll forgive me if I leave my armor on, while I don't mind being poked by those needles of yours I do need to train while armored whenever possible."

He stepped back from her somewhat and swept the ground in-front of him with one armored boot, checking his footing. Satisfied he inclined his head and donned his stifling helm. Instantly his vision narrowed until his focus was locked, laser like, on the girl before him. A smooth motion brought his heavy shield from the harness to his front, and he hefted it before him, flourishing the practice sword in his other hand. When he spoke the helmet's acoustics transformed his typically soft tones into a harsh rattle. He couldn't help but loose a gentle taunt.

"When you're ready then princess."

[Tieren]

+10 to Both

[Deleted]

Rapid Reload (Pistol Crossbow)
Rank: "C"
Skill: TaiJutsu/Supplementary
Effect: The user may reload a Crossbow at half the time than normal.
Special: ---
Drawback: Must learn per Crossbow Type.
Description: User should learn this technique first beforehand if they wish to user the crossbow. Normally it takes a 2 movements to load a most Crossbows or 4 movements to load a Rifle Crossbow. With this technique the user may load most Crossbows within 1 movement, or a Rifle Crossbow within 2 movements. User must learn per type of Crossbow. Example: User learns technique 1 time for Pistol Crossbow. User learns technique a 2nd time for Rifle Crossbow.
Limit: Must be a Marksman. Must have a Crossbow.

[ 0 | 30 ]

---

"You'll forgive me if I leave my armor on, while I don't mind being poked by those needles of yours I do need to train while armored whenever possible."

How convenient, though Lucrezia, half-smiling out the side of her mouth. She was not bothered, however; it was not as though she wished to shoot Victor for the sake of inflicting pain.

"When you're ready then princess."

Disregard the previous statement. Immediately, the young woman's smile dropped; her crossbow arm snapped up to a horizontal position and she had pulled the trigger to loose the sharpened stick without pausing to think or aim. This time around, Lucrezia was completely guiltless. The shot was unruly and kicked back the girl's arm with poorly-managed recoil; it would not be accurate or made with any real attempt at success, but served as a minacious rejoinder. Still, this brought with it hazard to Lucrezia; she had initiated combat, and was now without loaded munition. 

The armored giant was still a good way off and heavily encumbered, but Lucrezia did not imagine that he was much less eager to win out in this practice bout than she was. She immediately whirled away from Victor and fumbled for a second wooden bolt to load as she dashed away from him. Lucrezia discovered something new that day; attempting to load a crossbow while on the run was even trickier than it sounded. She levered back the mechanism that pulled the bowstring taut, before dropping her bolt and sliding it back into place. The agitation of the situation messed with her precision, but she managed the relatively simple process without dropping her bolt, at least.

The crossbow was now primed, but how was she to loose a shot at the colossus? She had not the proficiency to shoot backwards over her shoulder with any accuracy. Running alongside the archery alleys, Lucrezia had managed a distance of about seven meters by this point, but not far up ahead were several more lines of fence where the sparring pits were laid out. If Lucrezia entered into that area, she chanced getting caught vaulting over one of the barriers. So long as she could maintain distance from Victor, she would likely win out eventually. At least, that was how she figured it for the time being.

If her shots were to even chance at hitting his armor, however, she would need a moment to aim. Perhaps she could surprise him. The girl dug into the slightly marshy grass with her leather boot and whirled around, then, her black braid being carried with her. She raised her shot and took as little time to concentrate as she could before firing at Victor's left shoulder, forgetting to exhale upon shooting and instead breathing in sharply to pray for the projectile to hit its mark.

[Penitence]

Kuma Tsume - Hogo (Bear Claw - Block)

Rank: “D”, “C”, “B”, “A”, “S”

Skill: Taijutsu

Effect: Allows the user to effectively block corresponding ranks of attacks with their shield.

Special: Effective while in fully-formed Bear Claw Stance.

Drawback: Shields used with this technique will still be damaged according to item breaking laws if the attack being defended is higher than the user’s knowledge of this technique. Less effective against non-impact based Ninjutsu. May be bypassed by all-encompassing area-of-effect attacks.

Description: With training and raw physical strength the user learns the basic principle of how to block attacks with their shield. Standing steadfast, the user will simply place their shield between themselves and the threat, nullifying it with forward fortification and, if executed properly, stopping the attack’s power. The user is only able to remain on their feet and have their shield undamaged by attacks of equal or lower rank to the rank of this technique the user possesses.

Limit: “Bear Claw Stance”.



[10/30]

First post

-:-

Behind the imposing visor of his Arbiter battle plate Victor allowed a cunning smile to curl around his lips. She had taken the bait. A hastily fired bolt flickered out and ricocheted off his shield like so much water against a cliff. He was further amused to see her turn and run.

It was pretty straightforward of course, she would initially want to put distance between them to keep out of range of his sword, that would change. He rolled his shield bearing shoulder, getting it limber for the pounding it was about to receive. The first bolt hadn't hurt, but the impact had jarred him slightly. It was to be expected from a crossbow fired at close range, even a pistol crossbow.

He held his ground, letting her run her course as she put more distance between them. Curiously as much as distance was comfortable for her, it was comfortable for him too. Distance gave him more time to react, it lessened the impacts of her quarrels against his shield. It gave him room for more taunts.

She was proud, that much was certain, and easy to rile. It was a fairly common trait in nobles honestly, fluster them with failure and taunt them with jibes and they lost their inbred composure and started taking risks. That was when he would strike.

A second bolt flickered out and thudded dully against his shield. He had barely needed to shift his posture to pull the shield in-front of his body, covering the flank she had been aiming at. It was hard to tell exactly where she was aiming with the glasses on, but he had learned to fight against enemies wearing featureless masks with eye slits. Predicting her moves was frankly a little easy in comparison. He doubted it would remain that way as she became more proficient.

While she was reloading he got her attention with a short yell.

"Where're you going princess? The fun's over here."

His last words were punctuated with him pointing a finger at the ground in front of him. Before she could finish reloading he shifted back into his typical stance with his shield blocking her avenue of attack. Victor felt his muscles settle somewhat, he was patient, he would wait for the girl to come to him.

[Deleted]

Rapid Reload (Pistol Crossbow)
Rank: "C"
Skill: TaiJutsu/Supplementary
Effect: The user may reload a Crossbow at half the time than normal.
Special: ---
Drawback: Must learn per Crossbow Type.
Description: User should learn this technique first beforehand if they wish to user the crossbow. Normally it takes a 2 movements to load a most Crossbows or 4 movements to load a Rifle Crossbow. With this technique the user may load most Crossbows within 1 movement, or a Rifle Crossbow within 2 movements. User must learn per type of Crossbow. Example: User learns technique 1 time for Pistol Crossbow. User learns technique a 2nd time for Rifle Crossbow.
Limit: Must be a Marksman. Must have a Crossbow.

[ 0 | 30 ]
[ Post Two ]

---

Unfortunately, neither of Lucrezia's shots found her mark; Victor could seemingly judge the trajectory of her shots with ease, able to place his aegis between them and himself reliably. The Venator Sister's immaculate white teeth ground in frustration as the futility of her efforts was presented to her. The Vestaldt man was, from round one, not foolish enough to charge after her, which would be where Lucrezia would have a far easier time finding a gap in his defenses. Lucrezia had seemingly misjudged the nature of his self-assurance.

He was not only confident, but patient.

It was a frustrating impasse. He taunted her, again, but the mocking title had equal difficulty finding its mark with a second shot. For a moment, Lucrezia stood still, breathing evenly, given pause to wonder how she was ever going to win the bout. Without the troublesome matter of Victor's shield, this battle would have been child's play - the issue was that, without a distraction or any additional pressure, Victor would most likely not misjudge Lucrezia's attempts at hitting him. It more or less forced her to either outflank him - which was an enormous risk - misdirect him with some trick, or else simply shoot faster and in quicker succession than his reflexes could deal with.

Option C was the safest and most simple, but was it beyond the limits of the crossbow-wielder? She would have to find out. Abruptly, the girl slid her hand down into her quiver and retrieved not one, but two bolts, both resting neatly between separate fingers. With the projectiles clutched, she again pulled out the rear lever of the weapon, having to hold the head with the opposite hand. Once the bowstring was braced, Lucrezia attempted to slide the first bolt into the chamber as swiftly as possible, switch her grip back to the handle, raise her arm, and fire.

This time, her sights would be trained on Victor's right shoulder, but unlike last time, the girl would not pause to observe the result, or put too much stock in the attempt at all, but rather continue moving as immediately, as seamlessly as she could. Keeping the bolt held snugly between her knuckles, she again transferred her left hand to the front of the weapon and pulled the mechanism backwards, hurrying; trying to move with as much celerity as possible. In short, she was attempting a quick-draw, to try and cause Victor to fumble in his own movements.

The second bolt was loaded into place in a similar fashion to the first. Lucrezia's stance and expression were both motionless as she again raised her weapon to an appropriate height, took half a moment to get her bearings and shot a second time. Her target this time? His left shin.

This was not melee-range out-maneuvering, but it was something. Rapid-firing a crossbow was no easy task, that was for certain. The question was, how difficult would blocking the missiles be?

[Penitence]

Kuma Tsume - Hogo (Bear Claw - Block)

Rank: “D”, “C”, “B”, “A”, “S”

Skill: Taijutsu

Effect: Allows the user to effectively block corresponding ranks of attacks with their shield.

Special: Effective while in fully-formed Bear Claw Stance.

Drawback: Shields used with this technique will still be damaged according to item breaking laws if the attack being defended is higher than the user’s knowledge of this technique. Less effective against non-impact based Ninjutsu. May be bypassed by all-encompassing area-of-effect attacks.

Description: With training and raw physical strength the user learns the basic principle of how to block attacks with their shield. Standing steadfast, the user will simply place their shield between themselves and the threat, nullifying it with forward fortification and, if executed properly, stopping the attack’s power. The user is only able to remain on their feet and have their shield undamaged by attacks of equal or lower rank to the rank of this technique the user possesses.

Limit: “Bear Claw Stance”.



[10/30]

Second Post 

-:-

Victor felt a strange dichotomy, he had made this almost impossible for the crossbow wielding noble girl, but at the same time he wanted her to win. If she could get through his defenses she had a good chance of piercing the defenses of most anyone they fought against. Him being able to defend against her indefinitely, while nice to do, wasn't exactly optimal for them. At the end of the day he was a defender, and she would be the one who most often struck the final blow, she needed to be good at it.

On the other hand he was competitive, and if he had been a new recruit he would have fought tooth and nail for the victory, but he had more knowledge under his belt now, they had to be able to work as a team, and if this girl couldn't hit him it would break her confidence. He wouldn't let her win, absolutely he would make her work hard for it, but at the same time he doubted if he would even swing the practice sword held in his hand. 

At a distance of a bit over twelve meters Victor only just barely saw the girl draw both bolts if he had been focusing any less on her she would have gotten away with it. Wether she was trying to trick him or get a faster reload didn't matter. It was time to start putting pressure on this marks-woman. Her first bolt fired at his right shoulder was easy enough to block, he simply rotated his body to the right and stepped backwards as if to circle the Accosi girl in a clockwise fashion, his shield held on an angle between them, the bolt skittered off the face of his shield again and it was now that Victor decided to not be there anymore.

He saw her reloading and took a step towards her before going to the side once more, a basic zigzag but an effective one. The second bolt, aimed low, flickered between his legs and behind his visor his grin grew, she was firing at his limbs now which suited him fine. Only the most accurate of marksmen and women could hit a limb that was on the move. That said if he had been standing still she probably would have tagged him. He wondered briefly if she had realized he meant center mass when he said body. Too late to complain now though.

The legs were something he found challenging to defend as his shield was angled at the bottom and left little in the way of defense for the last quarter or so of his being. He would just have to adjust his style slightly to compensate.

After taking the one zigzag forward he stopped again, settling into his previous posture: It was time to wait again.

[Deleted]

Rapid Reload (Pistol Crossbow)
Rank: "C"
Skill: TaiJutsu/Supplementary
Effect: The user may reload a Crossbow at half the time than normal.
Special: ---
Drawback: Must learn per Crossbow Type.
Description: User should learn this technique first beforehand if they wish to user the crossbow. Normally it takes a 2 movements to load a most Crossbows or 4 movements to load a Rifle Crossbow. With this technique the user may load most Crossbows within 1 movement, or a Rifle Crossbow within 2 movements. User must learn per type of Crossbow. Example: User learns technique 1 time for Pistol Crossbow. User learns technique a 2nd time for Rifle Crossbow.
Limit: Must be a Marksman. Must have a Crossbow.

[ 0 | 30 ]
[ Post Three ]

---

The giant moved, intercepting Lucrezia's shots cleverly. Perhaps not quite as easily as he had previously, but still with success. Lucrezia paused to reckon with the situation again. While he might have been wielding a timber sword, his shield was a full-weight mound of steel; it looked tiresome to swing about. By contrast, Lucrezia's crossbow took minimal effort to load and shoot, and she had no shortage of bolts to be firing. The Venator Sister grinned as she realized she may well have found a metaphorical patch of high ground.

While she would most likely not try to wear him down to complete exhaustion in order to win - the dishonor in that was distasteful - but she could at least drain some of his energy; slow his movements for when she would inevitably have to move in and try to dodge at least one of his swings. For now though, she was completely at ease. The girl breathed in to center herself, dispelling some of the minor panic that had arisen in her mind, and drew a second round of dual bolts.

Her crossbow was again bent down, so as to cock the bowstring. The first of the two rounds did not need to be near as hurried as the second, but it always paid to be decisive in one's movements. Already, the bud of repetition felt as though it was flowering into habit; that, and with the reassurance of the distance between Lucrezia and her enemy, she was no longer moving fitfully. The first bolt was laid into place, and Lucrezia raised her shot, pointing it directly at Victor and giving herself a moment to line it up. It was quite evident that she did not care whether he deflected this first shot or not.

The trigger was pulled, and with a schink! the pistol fired off towards Victor's right shin; now it was time to move with alacrity. As though on a timer, the girl quickly reached the hand containing the second bolt to the head of the bow, cocked the entire thing, gripped the handle once again and slid the projectile into place, raising it and not focusing nearly as hard, but firing for a much more lethal target; the neck.

Chances are the shot would be off-target or find itself blocked by some plate of metal or other, and Lucrezia knew that even if these puny toys did find flesh that they were decided for sticking to hessian dummies, not piercing through skin and bone. She would likely have some explaining to do if she blinded one of her peers, but then again, Victor would have to do just as much explaining for having been blinded.

The true point of the first shot's swift successor was not to actually find a mark, but rather to force the Arbiter-in-training to swing his heavy shield from place to place. Lucrezia could stand still shooting all day, but how long could the armored giant flail about that hunk of metal?

[Penitence]

Kuma Tsume - Hogo (Bear Claw - Block)

Rank: “D”, “C”, “B”, “A”, “S”

Skill: Taijutsu

Effect: Allows the user to effectively block corresponding ranks of attacks with their shield.

Special: Effective while in fully-formed Bear Claw Stance.

Drawback: Shields used with this technique will still be damaged according to item breaking laws if the attack being defended is higher than the user’s knowledge of this technique. Less effective against non-impact based Ninjutsu. May be bypassed by all-encompassing area-of-effect attacks.

Description: With training and raw physical strength the user learns the basic principle of how to block attacks with their shield. Standing steadfast, the user will simply place their shield between themselves and the threat, nullifying it with forward fortification and, if executed properly, stopping the attack’s power. The user is only able to remain on their feet and have their shield undamaged by attacks of equal or lower rank to the rank of this technique the user possesses.

Limit: “Bear Claw Stance”.


[10/30]


Third Post

-:-

How many crossbow bolts were in that thing anyway?

The thought ran through his mind that his typical method of combat, wearing his opponent down, wasn't as easy when his opponent barely expended any effort to attack him. but he had little recourse in countering her. Another two bolts, okay he could get into a rhythm with this.

The first was aimed low and he simply crouched down, the shield held in front of him and resting against the ground. The bolt thudded dully against his shield and as he was about to rise the girl fired a second shot, she was getting quicker. This one was aimed high, obviously aimed at his head. He had little room to move and instead of trying to actively block the attack, simply his head and the arrow whizzed above him. Both shots fired, time to go on the offensive.

Lucrezia had already backed up and she was nearing the edge of the sparring ground they were in, so when Victor exploded into motion there was little in the way of direction she could escape to. The heavily armored man mustered a well of strength and sprang forwards, the heavy armor that he had so meticulously checked and balanced slowed him as he shot forwards, feet thudding on the ground with audible clanks.

This would tire him, but the crossbow wielding noblewoman had exactly two directions to move in, and both of them suited him perfectly. Shield held in front of him and sword trailing to the side where he could easily whip it forwards the behemoth made quick ground and with a laugh bore down on his sparring partner.

[Deleted]

Rapid Reload (Pistol Crossbow)
Rank: "C"
Skill: TaiJutsu/Supplementary
Effect: The user may reload a Crossbow at half the time than normal.
Special: ---
Drawback: Must learn per Crossbow Type.
Description: User should learn this technique first beforehand if they wish to user the crossbow. Normally it takes a 2 movements to load a most Crossbows or 4 movements to load a Rifle Crossbow. With this technique the user may load most Crossbows within 1 movement, or a Rifle Crossbow within 2 movements. User must learn per type of Crossbow. Example: User learns technique 1 time for Pistol Crossbow. User learns technique a 2nd time for Rifle Crossbow.
Limit: Must be a Marksman. Must have a Crossbow.

[ 0 | 30 ]
[ Post Four ]

---

Perhaps due to the leering smile Lucrezia had displayed upon figuring out her little plan, Victor rapidly grew tired of the game she played and opted to break the established pattern by charging straight for the comparatively twiggy little girl. By the time Victor had begun moving, Lucrezia had already pulled yet another bolt from her quiver and was transferring her grip once again in order to cock her weapon. Caught in the act, the crossbow-wielder was rather alarmed, but quickly evaluated that Victor was still a ways off and not particularly speedy; she had time to get off her shot.

She would have to be quick about it, though. Her hands moved swiftly; usually she was a little hesitant in pulling back the rear lever and shoving the crossbow head downward, but on this occasion she restrained herself not at all; it looked almost as though she were trying to split the bow in half. Lucrezia took a step or two backwards, trying to look at her weapon as little as possible so as to keep the lumbering armor suit in check. It took a decent amount of restraint and focus to load the bolt while being charged at, but the girl managed it in seconds.

Hastily, she raised her shot and took it, simply aiming for the giant's - oncoming - center of mass. Now that she had gotten the matter of retaliating out of the way, the second matter was escaping  the impending threat. She could not go left, or else doom herself to the narrow archer's alley. She could progress right into open space, but, as the girl glanced behind her, a new idea occurred to her.

She spun round, closing the gap of the few remaining meters between herself and the sparring pits: the arenas arenas were nothing but circular areas of dirt and sand, with a slight concave depression towards the center; they were ringed by fences of medium height, which Lucrezia reckoned she could surmount fairly swiftly - though she doubted Victor, in his heavy armor, could hope to do the same.

When she reached the fence, she planted her left, empty hand on the railing and exerted the considerable effort required to push her entire body off the ground and over the almost chest-high fence. Fortunately, though Lucrezia was not exactly a master crossbowman, her body had been trained to be decently athletic; she did not stumble when she fell to the other side. This would only slow Victor marginally, though. All he would have to likely do would be to take a detour to the actual gate of the arena, which wasn't far off. Lucrezia continued running, spurred by the clanking of metal behind her.

[Captain M]

LEARNED ON BOTH COUNTS!

OVERKILL 0_0 n_n ^_^

[Penitence]

Victor barely noticed the crossbow quarrel as it bounced harmlessly from the face of his shield. he did notice the girl vaulting over the fence to the arena however and skidded to a halt, lowering his shield. Lucrezia seemed quite pleased with herself as she stood a distance away, Victor tore off his helm and looked up at her with an amused look.

"We're at quite an impasse aren't we? At this point I might as well wander backwards and wait for you, but then we'll just be where we started. Why don't we call it a draw."

[Deleted]

Lucrezia had another bolt loaded and was about to fire again at Victor over the fence when she noticed that he had paused in his stride. Not as though he was preparing to take another arrow, either; he stood completely nonchalant, and presently drew his helmet off, revealing his cocky smile to still be very much in place. He looked amused. Lucrezia peered warily at him from behind her glasses and raised her primed crossbow to point at him regardless. 

"We're at quite an impasse aren't we? At this point I might as well wander backwards and wait for you, but then we'll just be where we started. Why don't we call it a draw," He suggested. Sensing no trick, Lucrezia eased her own stance, lowered her weapon and removed her spectacles, still regarding him with caution. She had been tempted to simply shoot at him with his guard down to claim an insolent victory, but there was a sizable chance she would have mis-aimed and stuck a wooden spine in his face, which was just impolite. She had to concede that he had a point, however. The clash of their respective skill-sets - at least at their current level - was a bland and tedious one. The winner would simply have been decided by one of them tiring faster or Lucrezia running out of munitions, both options being wholly unsatisfying anyhow.

"I suppose that's sensible," The girl had to concede, though the lack of a clear victor irked and displeased her. What was she to tell her parents? 'We got bored and decided to call it quits?'. Perhaps she would lie. Though that, too, would be impolite to the older boy. How beneficial it would be to their co-operation if he found out that she had spread false rumors of his defeat at her hands. Lucrezia sighed and resigned herself to the sermon she knew she would have to endure from her parents later on. She glanced at Victor furtively again, wondering just how much he bore talking to. Thus far she had to admit that he had been far more friendly than she had, but how far did that camaraderie extend? Perhaps she ought to find out.

"My parents are going to be thoroughly disappointed that I did not trounce you," She shared with a dispirited tone. Still, she then made an attempt to smile at him. It would have been optimistic to call it warm, but it was at least on the benevolent half of the spectrum. Now that she had no cause to overcome him, she did not feel the need to be near as standoffish. "I hope, Brother, that we will be as good when working together as we are terrible at combating each other."

That was an appropriate and amicable thing to say, was it not? The girl thought so. Hoped so.

[Penitence]

Victor quirked an eyebrow, amused at her little speech.

"Perhaps you should explain to them, as diplomatically as possible of course,that you were set up for failure? Else, you have the high ground, we can call it your in on that alone, after all I'm the one who called a halt."

He flicked the wooden sword in a tight circle, more of an absent minded fiddle than a conscious action.

"Or you could tell them that you're thankful you couldn't win because it means you still have more to learn. I don't know, it's been a long time since I've had someone to be proud of me in any meaningful sense. Typically I'm the one who ends up proud of others, and honestly I'm proud of you, though i have little right to it. You kept your cool with me barreling down on you, you're the first person under twenty to do so, most panic. As for us fighting together? I dare say that our complementing skill sets will be rather more effective in tandem than tension."