A Demon of Their Own

[Aiden]

The Peanuts? That was exactly his thought process, though he wasn't thinking of the cartoon. Would she be stupid enough to charge in head-on again, and let him flip her? He had even given her advance warning that he would do so if he was given the chance, so how would she play out her move? She knew that he could stop a kick, and she wasn't as strong as Yuki was. Then again, Aiden was for more experienced than her, and this was a little one-sided, though there were some moves that were universal on everyone, no matter their strength or experience. He stood, waiting, his breathing steady, his eyes watching her every movement. "Come on, then," he taunted when she responded to his request, still waiting for her move. He could remind her that in real combat she wouldn't get this kind of time, but he could do that later. For right now, she needed the lesson that usually, one failed attempt didn't work twice.

Then, finally, she moved. For her first two steps, he watched her foot-fall, and after a third, anticipated where she was going. His own body moved, stepping over one step to compensate for her path. His arm reached out, and as she threw her arm out in a weak attempt tp punch him, he grabbed it, pulled her in, and flipped her over, this time the echoing sound coming from her body falling on the mat louder, which meant that it was assuredly more painful. He couldn't help but laugh to himself, before bending over Teagan, hands on his knees. "Running the same failed course a second time won't get you much of anywhere, aside from where you ended up in the first place," he said, holding his hand out to her to help her up.

[[Ok, one more post from Teagan, and one from Aiden, and Yuki should come in]]

[Teagan]

A dull pain spread through the back of her head, an obvious result of the double toss. Quite irritated, Teagan pushed up on her elbows and shook her head. Wait-Aiden was laughing at her? Sure, she would’ve chuckled a bit too if someone had totally bit it before her, but the malice behind his laugh was tangible. And sealed his fate.

Teagan accepted Aiden's outreached hand. Instead of letting her help him up though, she tightly took hold of his wrist and pulled him roughly to the ground next to her.

It was important to remember that losing the fight didn’t mean the opponent had been completely defeated; it just put them in a position where they had nothing else to lose. Especially ghosts and other supernatural beings, Aiden had lectured them the previous day. If you believed in them, of course. Teagan though, was beginning to understand the implications of the phrase in a not-so-insane state of mind.

"Never underestimate an opponent, right?" Teagan bitterly asked. "Why the heck are you always trying to flip me all the time?"

[Aiden]

Yes, Aiden was laughing at her. Revenge was sweet, and though it was mean to do so by inflicting pain upon the person he sought revenge against, it still made him feel better nonetheless. The itching skin, the smell, the chair, the milk, all of it, this was retribution. Teagan had it coming, and she knew it, and she also knew that Aiden knew, or so he figured. Did she really think that this was just training? If that was the case, she was thoroughly wrong. So he stood, laughing, letting his satisfaction seep through his body as Teagan lay on the mat. Of course, the lesson needed to go on, and maybe he could get a few more shots in before she realized what was going on. Thus, he extended his hand, felt her take it, but was not prepared for the downward momentum. So she was pulling a Yuki? That was fine, this time he would retaliate.

He fell beside her, hearing her speak, but he didn't even wait for her to finish before he was on top of her, fist pulled back then released, hovering only mere inches from her face. "Never underestimate your opponent, right?" he said in a low tone, pressing his weight against her body as he held himself up with one hand, and let his fist hover above her. "When we start actually fighting to hit, this will connect with your face," he said, in a matter-of-fact way. He wouldn't become the butt of the fight, and let them get in a whole bunch of cheap shots because they were sore losers. No sir, that would not happen. He pushed himself up, stretching his back before looking down at Teagan. She still didn't realize it? Fine, he would spell it out for her. "Consider it retaliation for all the pranks you've pulled on us for the past week," he said coarsely, rolling his neck to release the pressure there. "You had to realize that revenge would come, right? You're back will serve as a reminder of that."

[Yuki]

The fight between Aiden and Teagan had been relatively normal, especially considering Teagan's extensive inexperience. Of course she would be flipped by him, her stance and movements were completely incorrect, too stiff at certain points and clumsy at best. Yuki half-observed the two from a distance, arms folded. How dull.. In the midst of their battle, her boredom was broken by sound of Aiden's words.

"Consider it retaliation for all the pranks you've pulled on us for the past week,"

...Retaliation? Retaliation for what? Teagan hadn't done anything, other than screw up a countless number of times...wait, did he say retaliation for pranks? Pranks...what pranks? "...pranks you've pulled on us for the past week." The past week...but nothing had happened, other than the mysterious being--

And then it clicked.

She heard Aiden and Teagan's voices in the distance, arguing, but they were drowned out, distant. She felt her pulse escalate to the point where she could feel the veins in her temple and wrist throbbing. Her breathing slowly grew heavier and louder, to the point where it became a snarl. Then, with a violent flash of red across her eyes, she lunged at the pathetic, sniveling girl.

"IT WAS YOU!" she yelled in a blind fury, suddenly tackling Teagan to the ground. With the rotten being pinned to the ground, Yuki began throwing punches at the girl with full force. "HOW DARE YOU?! YOU DEPLORABLE, FEEBLE, USELESS, MEAGER CHILD! YOU SHALL PAY FOR EVER HAVING CROSSED ME, YOU WRETCHED THING! I SHALL TEAR YOU APART LIMB FROM LIMB! I SHALL DISMANTLE YOUR BODY UNTIL IT IS A MERE CORPSE! IT SHALL BE UNRECOGNIZABLE TO EVEN THOSE MOST FAMILIAR WITH YOU! AND I SHALL MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE IN SUCH A STATE SO THAT IT APPEARS YOU ARE DEAD, AND THEY SHALL BURY YOU ALIVE, AND I SHALL PERSONALLY MAKE SURE YOU NEVER RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE! OH, I'LL MAKE YOU WISH YOU HAD NEVER BEEN BORN TO SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY! BAKA YARO! BUSU! KUSO O TABERU NA! KETSUOANA! BAKA KUSO ATAMA! HELL IS A PARADISE IN COMPARISON TO THE WORLD OF HURT YOU SHALL FEEL!" Yuki continued to throw punches, and then paused to catch her breath. The pause was not a long one, for within a few seconds, she had gotten up and made a mad dash for her purse. Her knife was in there. She wouldn't kill her, no, though there was definitely enough motive too. However, she would give the foolish child a couple scars which would be impossible to forget.

Knife in hand, she turned to her with a frigid glare, so cold and pointed that it could've frozen over Hell. Then, she lifted the knife and pricked it with her fingertips, cutting herself in doing so. She couldn't really care less. She felt no pain. All she felt was pure rage, a burning, seething sensation that pulsated through her body like a blood-red ocean. "Have you been acquainted with my knife yet, Teagan?" she asked the girl, jeering."If you haven't," she said pausing to lick the blood from her cut, "YOU'LL BE QUITE FAMILIAR WITH IT WITHIN THE NEXT TEN MINUTES!" once again, she charged at the puny, defenseless child. "YOU SHALL RUE THE MINUTE YOU EVER TRAVERSED PATHS WITH YUKI OSHIRO OF OKINAWA!"

[Teagan]

It just wasn’t Teagan’s day. Flipped twice and now found herself pinned to the ground with Aiden’s fist inches from her face. If her trick had worked the way it was supposed to work, Teagan would be smugly watching Aiden’s face turn red as she one-upped him as Yuki had. Instead, she had to bite her tongue as he harshly whispered threats in her general direction. He would hit a girl too…she wouldn’t put it past him.

“Are you kidding me? I pranked you one day! Only one day! Sure, it made use of all twenty-four hours within that day, but it didn’t continue on! Unlike this stupid payback of yours!” Teagan glared at Aiden as he allowed her to stand. “At least you had a sporting chance to stop it. Hunters are supposed to notice when things are out of place, right? It’s not my fault if you failed that test! But I know nothing when it comes to guns, or flipping, or-“

Teagan was dusting off her jeans when a Yuki shrieked and lunged at Teagan. Say wha-. The two girls collided to the floor, causing a thud to echo across the room. Teagan’s eyes opened in time to catch the unfathomable rage in the foreigner’s eyes. Holy crap. From the shouting that quickly enveloped the room, Yuki had just now figured out exactly what supernatural monster had visited them during the week. Great. What impeccable timing. Cluing in during the fighting practice so that she had all the resources available to give Teagan a proper beating. So not cool.

“Get off me, freak!” Teagan’s arms rose defensively to her face, attempting to intercept Yuki’s fists of flurry. She tried kicking Yuki off of her with her legs, but her height once again proved itself burdensome. Yuki’s larger composure allowed her to restrain Teagan in more ways that Teagan had hoped. A gasp flew from her mouth as Yuki’s fist landed on her stomach, causing the air in her lungs to flee for safety. Crud. Someone get this maniac off of her! More punches found their targets all along her side and arms. If there had been any chance of Teagan apologizing to Yuki for the “uncomfortable experiences”, it was long gone now. No apology would pass through her lips, even if it meant ceasing the source of the pain that throbbed along her body. As Teagan struggled to regain a proper breathing cycle, Yuki continued her explosive rant, clearly infuriated. Clear as the windows in the Windex commercials that the black birds ran into all of the time. It was just a prank! No one should take them this seriously!

The sudden silence in the room made Teagan question whether or not she had lost consciousness. The disappearance of Yuki’s weight gave her the courage to open her eyes. Was it safe? A breath of fresh, unblocked air entered her system and she sighed with relief. Until she noticed Yuki standing in the corner, fishing out a knife from her purse.

Not safe. Not safe. Not safe. Not safe. Not safe. Not safe. Not safe. Not safe. Not safe.

Teagan quickly stood up, eyeing the Japanese girl warily. “Aiden, now would be an excellent time to intervene. I realize you might think I deserve this…but she just pulled out a freakin’ knife!” If Teagan couldn’t defend herself against in a simplel sparring session that wasn’t even serious, there was no way in Hell she’d be able to stand a minute against Yuki with that knife in her hands…Teagan’s face drained of color as the girl in front of her pricked the knife against her own finger. Was she insane?

As Yuki “introduced” Teagan to the knife, the teen realized that she wouldn’t walk out of the fight without a decent defense. But she didn’t know anything! Karate had been a failure! Her parents had never thought anything bad would have happened to her…that, or they had ensured she would never be in that kind of situation. Her eyes scanned the room, desperate to find something (anything) she could use. But they had cleared the room earlier in preparation for training. Nothing besides their own stuff and that broom in the corner.

…

THE BROOM!

Sure, it was a long shot…and it probably wouldn’t work…but all of those hours she had devoted to practice had to pay off at some point, right? It had better. Or else she would personally hunt down her instructor…once the scars healed, of course. While Yuki licked the blood off of her finger (proving she, and those who believed in the supernatural were indeed psychotic), Teagan took the opportunity to swiftly dart across the room and grab her salvation. Her fingers clenched the wooden stick and instinctively she swung around to face her opponent. Just in time; Yuki had once again lunged at her. But this time she was looking and ready.

Her feet were planted one forward, one back. Hands around top of the broom placed in front of her and gripped tightly, but with enough room to be flexible. Teagan’s eyes narrowed in on Yuki’s steps. Three, two, one…
Teagan took one step forward, twisting the broom so that the short, opposite end caught Yuki’s wrist and prevented her from completing her stab. Good. That solved one problem. The second one could easily be remedied. She pivoted and brought the other side of the houseware-transformed-weapon crashing into Yuki’s chin. The girl stumbled back, caught off guard.

Teagan returned to her original defensive pose breathing deeply and heavily. She had managed to survive the first assault. Now to prepare for the next one. Because, if she had gauged Yuki’s rage right, the assaults wouldn’t stop coming until a victor arose from the dust.

[Yuki]

As she charged at Teagan through her blind fury, she saw that the conniving child darted away from her. Running, was she? That would do her no good. Karate had trained Yuki to be not only strong, but agile and nimble as well. As if a meager eighteen-year-old could outrun her. She clutched the knife in her left hand so tightly she felt a tiny sting of pain from her palm. No matter. She would deal later with whatever areas she bruised herself. Right now, the only thing that mattered was delivering the due pain that the worthless offspring deserved.

But, as she lunged the knife forward, she was halted by...A BROOM?! She stepped back, caught off guard by Teagan's sudden move. The girl dared to use a weapon AGAINST her? The maneuver only made Yuki's rage increase. "FOOLISH CHILD," she growled. "YOU THINK THAT SIMPLY BECAUSE YOU WEILD THAT BRITTLE TWIG THAT YOU HAVE ANY CHANCE OF STOPPING ME?" she yelled from a small distance, pointing at the useless object. The room was somewhat spinning as she stood there, and she could hear her blood pulsing in her ear, growing louder and louder with every passing second. It was as if she had been engaged in a state of animalistic violence, combined with a human adrenaline rush. Gritting her teeth, she icily glared at the teen. And then, with her dishelved hair and disarranged clothes, a sinister smirk stretched across her face. Standing up straight, she lowered the knife to her side and with her right hand, began running her fingers through her hair.

"You know, Teagan, they say a girl's hair is her pride," she said calmly, looking down at her currently-dyed, long, wavy reddish-brown hair. Then, she looked up at the stupid girl, raising one eyebrow, and continued in a nonchalant manner. "It would be such a shame for a girl's hair to be cut off, now wouldn't it?" She took a step forward. "Such a shame, such a shame," Yuki said in a sing-song way, still advancing towards Teagan. "Of course, those who evoke caprices such as you have," she paused, and began raising her knife, "...SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO HOLD SUCH PRIDE!"

And then, she charged once again, with more force and wild rage than before. "I SHALL BE THE ONE TO STRIP AWAY ANY PRIDE YOU HAVE EVER HAD. YOU MAY CLING AND RUN IN HOPES OF RETAINING IT, BUT A DISGUSTING RODENT CANNOT ESCAPE THE PREDATIVE FELINE FOREVER!"

[Teagan]

“….ANY CHANCE OF STOPPING ME?”

Ah, no. Teagan really didn’t think she had much of a chance of stopping a rampaging lunatic with a mere broom. Much less a female rampaging lunatic who had a black belt. Probability said that she wouldn’t walk out of this battle without a major scratch unless she took action. At the moment, she just needed to tune everything out and focus, like her father had taught her before. Focusing started with ignoring what came out of Yuki’s mouth and paying attention to what her body language hinted. Although her psychotic rant on pride and hair and cutting all of Teagan’s hair off was slightly unnerving and hard to ignore. Teagan did her best to keep a straight face as the girl dipped left and right, almost as if she were drunk.

Yuki took a dizzy step towards Teagan, moving the knife into a lower position. Teagan took a step to the side and adjusted her stance as the girl waltzed closer and closer. Her eyes trained solely on the knife and footsteps, enmity almost tangible in the air as the confrontation grew closer. As expect, the knife raised, mirroring Yuki’s shrieks. If Teagan hadn’t been paying attention, she wouldn’t have noticed the abrupt increase in speed. With a flick of her wrist, she deflected the oncoming knife and pushed down on the opposite end to trip the girl, sending her sprawling across the room.

“I think I understand why emotions are dangerous in a fight, Aiden,” she called to the one who hadn’t budged a foot. Some help he was. Her gaze returned to Yuki, who looked rather creepy. “I prefer the emotionless one better…”

[Yuki]

Deflected again?! Yuki panted heavily from a distance. Her vision was blurring and her ears--the blood would not stop pounding. She tightened the grip on her knife and felt a drop of sweat trickle down the side of her head. The sting from the cut on her finger now burned, and she saw from the corner of her eye as the bright red liquid that seeped from it. Yuki felt as if her entire body was trembling with anger, infuriated at the very sight of the scumbag of a girl across from her. But Yuki was now seeing double of the girl, as well as of everything else. Why can't I focus?!

She closed her eyes, hoping that when she opened them, her sight would be back to normal, but for some reason, she couldn't help but to let out a chuckle. It was small at first. And for no apparent reason, it quickly erupted into maniacal laughter that echoed throughout the room. And then, she looked at Teagan in a haughty manner and brought the knife forward. "YOU'VE BEEN LUCKY SO FAR, PATHETIC CHILD! BUT NOW," she growled, charging at Teagan with the knife aimed at her left shoulder, "YOUR FORTUNE HAS RUN OUT!"

[Aiden]

Never in his life did Aiden think that the term 'when reactions turn into hurricanes' would be so true. He knew that Yuki didn't know that Teagan was behind everything, because she'd been pressing him from the start since he told her that the EMF meter had told him everything--it told him that it was nothing supernatural, which ultimately picked Teagan out. Still, though, he hadn't thought that Yuki would react so violently. If he had any idea, he would have been more subtle about the fact that he was currently getting his revenge, a sore back for a few days would suffice. But when Yuki began screaming, Aiden couldn't help but jump a little, his face blank as he stared meekly at Yuki, who, in a flash, was on top of Teagan. For a moment, Aiden was going to pull Yuki off, but the little devil on his shoulder was rooting for more revenge, and so he took a step back. Besides, it was combat training, after all.

Maybe he should have intervened, because Teagan was getting the living daylights beaten out of her. Yuki was packing quite the punch, and he listened as Teagan lost most of the air in her body. Then suddenly Yuki was gone, pulling out her knife. At this point Aiden took a step forward, but stopped when Teagan grabbed the broom. She was being resourceful, and as he watched her handle Yuki from a distance, the only thing that came to his mind was not stopping the fight, but her skills. "Teagan, why didn't you say anything about knowing how to handle a staff?" he called out in the midst of the fight. He still stood idly by, watching, waiting.

When Yuki began rambling on about hair, she sounded maniacal. He knew that the fight couldn't last much longer, and as the girls sent each other flying, he waited, watching now. Yuki was pissed, he never even imagined this side of her, and he made a mental note never to piss her off. He continued to watch, and as Yuki got up, he noted the position of the knife. Brandished outward, as if to stab. Before Yuki could even move, Aiden looped his arms through hers, grabbed the knife, and used one leg to knock her own out from beneath her. Forcing her to the ground, he took the knife, and moved to stand between them. "That's enough, Yuki. Yes, she was wrong, yes, you have every right to be mad, but you stab her and you'll have to deal with me," he said darkly, looking down upon her. "And I don't just mean hand-to-hand combat, either," he growled. He turned to Teagan, and sighed. "Training is done for the day. Head upstairs, and if you two even so much as throw one punch, there will be hell to pay," he said.

((You can make up another day of training if you want, but I dunno what it'd be.))

[Yuki]

The knife was held forward. Yuki had been charging, so close to striking the worthless girl, when she was suddenly thrown to the ground by an unseen force. She collided against the floor, and the impact knocked the breath out of her. As she lay there, gasping for breath, every muscle in her body ached. It was as if each one had been functioning at maximum power for days straight. How had she been knocked down? Looking up, she saw Aiden glowering at her from above. Of course it was him. "Omae..." she hissed angrily. She thought he had more sense than to intervene, but obviously not.

Yuki winced from the pain in her left arm as Aiden lectured her. Mad? She was more than mad, she was completely outraged. A stab to the shoulder was what the brat deserved for such childish mannerisms. And...was he threatening her? With her own knife?! She glared back at him coldy. Who did he think he was? True, she had attacked the girl, but it was combat-training, and additionally, the girl had to learn that every action bore a consequence. Despite the pain, Yuki stood up so that she and Aiden were looking at each other face-to-face. He hadn't told her anything. To a certain level, he was just as guilty for not uttering his discovery. Then, she turned and gave Teagan a piercing scowl. Yuki did not say a word, nor did she plan to comply to Aiden's wishes when he told them to go upstairs. She was not a child to be ordered to her room, nor was he her father to act as if he could do so. Additionally, she could not bear the idea of being in the same building as that...wretched thing. Crossing her arms in animosity, she headed for the door and stormed off.

[Teagan]

Teagan held the broom vertically in front of her in the standard defense position. Unfortunately, the toll of Yuki's wrath began to make itself known. Her arms began to tremble and spots appeared in the sides of her vision. She blinked, trying to chase away the apparitions before Yuki struck. When she refocused, two blurs collided in front of her. Her eyes widened as Aiden removed the knife from Yuki's possession and clearly warned the rampaging lunatic not to continue.

Teagan held her breath as silence descended on the room. Would Yuki listen or did Teagan need to send some final prayers up to heaven? Before Yuki replied, Aiden issued Teagan a nearly identical warning. Like she could think of pulling something at the moment. Yet giving up completely? She would just have to be more careful in the future. Lay low a week or two and then subtlety kick the game up a notch. Teagan resigned herself to nodding in agreement. For now, Aiden.

Yuki rose, resentment written all over her face. Teagan's hands instinctively gripped tighter on the broom handle. Her vision flickered as a wave of fear washed over her. Funny, fear was not an emotion she greeted in light situations, but one that visited only when she really, really felt concern for her well-being. Her apprehension was validated with the piercing glare Yuki icily sent her direction. Teagan shivered as she watched the girl fume up the stairs and slam the door loud enough to send a clear signal: she was not pleased.

"Thanks...oh, and for the record, Aiden," Teagan muttered as she slid down against the wall. It suddenly became a trial to stand. "It's a broom, not a staff." She leaned said weapon on the floor next to her and closed her eyes. Waking up tomorrow would not be painless.

[Aiden]

The fiasco in Nevada was over with, Teagan had returned to Portland with Yuki and Aiden, and now things were semi-back to normal. Awkward as hell, but still pretty normal. Teagan hadn't pulled any pranks, not yet at least, and Aiden was trying to avoid the subject of kicking her out, or the escapade at the camp. He still had a thing or two to say to Keith, and if he didn't live so far away Aiden would drive back in a heartbeat and give him the rest of his mind. But he wouldn't, and couldn't. The fight with the shritga, and a particularly hard fight with a shape shifter left Aiden with some pent up frustration, on top of still feeling that it was his fault that Teagan had been kidnapped. Running, one of his usual escapes, hadn't helped at all--he must of circled the road five times in one go, and still his mind was plagued.

Keeping to himself wasn't working either, because the pent up frustration would burst out randomly on one or both of the girls, and then he would feel worse. Drinking in the bar wasn't helping. Hunting wasn't helping. He hated this, he just needed some peace of mind. It was a few days before he realized that the new addition to the stash in his room--his silver sword he got at the mall--had still been untouched since it came home. Deciding that whacking something repeatedly with a sharp object like an oversized knife might be his cure, he grabbed the sword, and made his way down to the basement, his training area.

There was a thick, wooden dummy in one corner of the room, and without any hesitation, Aiden made his way over to it, raising the sword. It was slightly heavy in his hands, making them rise slowly into the air. He drew the sword back, and then swung it forward, hearing a loud crack and feeling the sword sink into the wood with ease. A smile broke out on his face as he pulled it out, and repeated the process. WHACK, WHACK, WHACK! Several fissures now lined its body, and it wasn't long before Aiden was adding his own moves in in between blows, getting a hit here, or a kick there. His mind was focused on the fight now, and it regarded his enemy--the dummy-- as weak and worthless. He needed a real fight, and he only wished one of the girls would show up.

[Teagan]

The days dragged on as Teagan spent each afternoon in a hammock under the tall trees, catching up on some long overdue reading. Aiden had requested the girls to read the books a month earlier, but she had blown him off and had almost gotten the lot of them killed. Herself, mostly. If any good came out of summer camp, it would be the fact that now she focused on learning all about the rules of a world she had never known. The supernatural is ridiculously infinite, Teagan tiredly thought as she closed another book and added it to her “completed” pile. She shut her eyes and relaxed into the hammock.

From an air vent on the close side of the tavern resounded echoes of two objects colliding, over and over again with loud rock music in the background. One of her eyes opened in curiosity. What was going on? Teagan yawned and rolled off of the hammock without reluctance. Nightmares visited her any time she threatened to enter the REM cycle, so putting off sleep until dark was an enticing idea. The thought of sleep without dreams or nightmares enticed her slightly more, but she would take what she was given.

Teagan followed the sound to the basement, where upon entering she discovered Aiden practicing with a shiny sword. So he wanted to learn that too, hm? She leaned against the door and crossed her arms, a knowing grin on her face. “New toy, eh? Want some help breaking it in?” Her eyes turned to a staff in the corner that Aiden had insisted on purchasing after the, um, incident-with-Yuki-that-would-never-be-mentioned-again. Although in a real fight, it wouldn’t be the more desirable weapon, for a simple spar, Teagan could handle it with the precision of an expert.

[Aiden]

The trip to Carson City had been...eventful to say the least, but it was enough to lock in the fact that Aiden wasn't exactly a fan of shtrigas. However, it all worked out for the best, Teagan was back and safe, and things were relatively back to normal. Normal as normal could get after one was a hunter, after Aiden had kicked Teagan out and almost got her killed, and after the awkward reunion in that lone cabin. Still, though, there was always time to be training, and with the weapon he hadn't had a chance to use yet, Aiden found that time of the day the perfect opportunity to do so. Thus he had gone down into the gym area, and began carving up the dummy.

A sword was much different than a knife--a knife depended on strength, and speed, and being able to dodge should another attack come in the process of fighting. However, a sword was longer, it was more in the way, heavier, more awkward, and it limited his movements. The dummy, however, let Aiden hit him--it wasn't like it could move, exactly. After a bit, Aiden paused in his training, in order to put on some music. The problem with moving like he was wearing headphones was that they would fly out. So with the loud rock music reverberating off the walls of the basement area, he was oblivious to Teagan entering the room, ready to spar with Aiden.

He stopped at her voice, breaking through the bridge of the song, letting the sword point drop to the ground, his hand still firmly grasped around the hilt. "Huh? Oh...sure, I guess. I forgot that you're warrior princess Barbie," he teased, and then turned to face his opponent. "Ready when you are."

[Teagan]

“Not quite Barbie,” Teagan grinned as she retrieved her staff. The familiar wood felt cool to her touch. With a quick flick of her wrist, she twirled it in a figure eight motion before taking a defensive position. “Xena would be more accurate.”

In a normal bout, Teagan would automatically be the underdog solely based on her height. What she loved about her weapon of choice was that the length of the staff made up for any weakness she had. Even though Aiden was taller and could use height and weight against her, a well placed strike on her part would place him on his knees in moments.

Flexing her fingers, Teagan prepared for an attack. Before Aiden could move though, she burst out laughing. No way. “Aiden,” she grinned, “You do realize that people only hold a sword like that in movies, right?” From the look on his face, he didn't believe her. "Let me show you why."

Three steps closed the gap between them. As she placed her weight on her left leg, she swung the bottom end of the staff toward his hands. Upon collision, she immediately changed her direction and brought the top end down. The clattering of iron on cement echoed through the room, momentarily washing out the rock music her faction leader insisted on blasting. The staff returned to unharmed to her side and she looked up at Aiden with a "sucks-for-you" smile. "Any questions? Pick up the sword and I'll show you how it's supposed to be handled."