Training yards

[Tifa Lockhart]

This is where fighters come to train in all their skills.

[Tifa Lockhart]

A heavy horse thundered down the tilting lane at high speed. A long blunted tip wooden lance extended past the beasts head. Clutched in the iron clad hand of a mighty warrior.
Again, as with every pass, the knight struck the quintains shield squarely and the lance splintered into millions of pieces. The quintain span half way round and stopped, and the knight galloped past without being buffeted by a sandbag which hung on the end. It served as a deterrent to any green knight who didn't hit the quintain properly.

This was Jarl, captain of the kings personal guard. As with all of the kings guard, he was Goralan, bred for battle and nothing more. Every inch of his body was rock hard muscle. Jarl was growing bored of these peaceful times... it didn't matter how much he trained, there was nothing more to learn, and he would never get rusty. Having grown tired of tilting he dismounted and released the horse, letting it wonder back to the stables on its own. He unsheathed his sword and began a pattern 'dance'. It was where he did certain sword movements in a chain. The magnificent sword was a blur in its masters hand... a real professional with the sword was he.

[Cloud Strife]

A similar warrior to that of Jarl had been riding upon his horse, kicking at his sides to urge him foreward into a gallop. What was he doing? The large beast was simply enjoying the wind, the feeling that he was flying. Such simplicity like this was one of Roraanu's favorite pasttimes when not fighting. Of course, fighting was his first 'love', but when it came down to it, he just wished to enjoy other things for a change. Eventually, Aanu took notice that his horse was growing tired; sweating profusely and the like...and so, he nudged the steed into a canter, and then a trot, only to then urge him to walk. This was the simple routine that any responsible horse owner should know. xD

After doing so, Aanu dismounted and lightly smacked the horse's rear; signalling the stallion to head towards the barn. Hmm...now what should he do? Soon enough, he spotted Jarl, his superior officer and great friend, doing his typical 'dance' routine; the magnificent strokes of his blade and the like. So, seeing as how Aanu was itching for some sort of action, the warrior drew his own blade and inched towards his friend and training partner. Only he could match his superior in skill; thus why he had gained the lieutenant title so easily. "Mind if I join in, Jarl?" The gargantuan man would call. Too bad his face was covered, for a grin would have been seen had his face been revealed. "After all, you look right bored out of your mind, just as I. Gotta stay in shape, you know?"

[Tifa Lockhart]

Jarl stopped the pattern dance with a flourish of his sword, spinning it in his hand and sheathing it in one smooth movement.
"Alright.... arm." He said instantly unsheathing the blade once more and lunging, he knew his companion would block, Goralan's were too good to miss during practice... even one on one battle for that matter. It took about 10 enemies attacking at once to take out a Goralan's.

[Cloud Strife]

Instantaneously, as Jarl had guessed, Aanu unsheathed his sword in a matter of seconds; blocking his superior's blade with ease. "Ah, nicely done. You had me worried for a moment there. Of course, it was but a moment." A hearty chuckle sounded forth as Aanu would suddenly pull his blade towards him. Hopefully, this would force Jarl to stumble foreward, though he knew the Captain was far more experienced than that. Never the less, Aanu, upon doing so, would side step abruptly and lunge for Jarl much like Jarl had done towards him. A side-slash, and slash heading towards the sky, and a few other such maneuvers would be the pattern at the moment. He'd block Jarl's, etc. After all, this was still only training. :3

[Tifa Lockhart]

As Aanu pulled his sword back Jarl gave a cry of elation and switched his sword into his other hand, blocking the oncoming side attack. See that! He can use BOTH hands! He switched it back into his right hand and sidestepped casually over as he blocked stikes. To indicate he wanted to step things up a little Jarl put one hand on his hip. Almost instantly he began to speed his strikes, lunging low and dancing back much like a snake.
"You're in good form this evening." Jarl commented, taking a grapevine step to the left and feinting slash upwards so Aanu would block high, and then Jarl if tis worked, would try low.
Neither were slashing like they were able to so even if they did hit each other it would just make a metallic thud on their armour. Both would walk out with minor bruises, nothing more.

[Cloud Strife]

Aanu mimicked each attack of Jarl's with ease. One of his greatest skills was to mirror his opponent; his ability to copy the attacks shone to him was quite brilliant. At the abrupt lunges, speeding up the thrusts, and the complex feet patterns, Aanu continued to block and make his own attacks similar to his superior. "But of course, Jarl! Nothing but the best for you." A chuckle sounded as he blocked a particularly lethal attempt at striking him. "Ah ah ah, be nice there Jarl, my friend..and maybe I'll do the same." Another laugh, and another thrust..and off they went again.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Jarl gave a low rumble, his idea of a laugh. One foot after another, slashing and meeting Aanu's blade squarely with his, they were an almost even match. Aanu was the only person in the kingdom who could pose a challenge to Jarl, the prince was brilliant with the sword, and if it wasn't for Jarl's concern he'd kill the prince he'd have loved to duel him.

[Cloud Strife]

Aanu knew of the Prince's gift with the sword. He knew it well. In fact, he'd aided him with his training a few times. However, like Jarl, he was slightly worried that he may harm the Prince. Aanu was...rough...when he fought and trained. ;

Anyways, Aanu continued to meet Jarl's blade with his own effortlessly...though he was beginning to grow tired. They'd been fighting for quite some time now, after all. Nevertheless, the smile on his face never fell...even if nobody could see it.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Jarl could tell Aanu was beginning to tire, his blocks weren't as strong.
He seized the moment and span the sword in his wrist against Aanu's. If this worked, the blade would be flicked out of Aanu's hand and Jarl would be able to hold him at a yield.

[Cloud Strife]

Ah ah ah! Do not underestimate Aanu. That will result in a sound defeat... See, Aanu spotted this attempt and leapt backwards before it even connected with his blade. He knew that if it had, there'd be a definite defeat. "Ha! You..almost got me, Jarl...almost. But as always, you know I won't go down that easy..hm?" A smirk appeared as he paused, sword extended as he waited for his superior's next move. He knew that if he didn't finish this soon, he'd lose...

[Tifa Lockhart]

Jarl didn't tire. Full stop. There was no point when Jarl's skills wained through exhaustion. Sure he showed it BIG TIME when they stopped, but there was no sign while he was fighting.
"You know i do it all to test you my friend." He decided he would use his new tactic. He took a step backwards, hopefully to confuse Aanu and then lunged forward without moving his feet. If this didn't work Jarl would move it up a notch, he was capable of duel wielding, so he'd simply lure Aanu over to the weapons stand where all the training weapons were kept and grab another sword. Not cheating, adapting

[Cloud Strife]

Okay, Aanu was having some issues. The attack when he leaned back, and then thrusted foreward, definitely caught him off guard. However, he was an accomplished warrior! He'd not lose simply because of a misstep or stumble. "Ya ya, as usual. Hmph, one of these days I'll beat you, Jarl. You just wait." Aanu was still smirking, his voice holding a light tone to it. He took a few steps to the left, avoiding any attacks from Jarl. That's when he saw Jarl take another sword. ....Shit....That's not good. Not good at all. Okay, time to also take it up a notch. After all, now he needed to be extra careful. Let's see...could he snag another sword to even the playing field? He'd have to see what jarl's next moves were.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Jarl grinned broadly, not that you could really see because of his helmet.
"Ah but when that day comes i will probably have been cut to ribbons by some sort of demon!" This was definitely a taunt to egg his friend on. Fighting two swords to one was to easy. It was incredibly simple to disarm your opponent when you had two swords.
So instead he feinted and walked to the left a bit, giving Aanu a chance to dart forward and grab a second sword. Of course he made sure it didn't LOOK like he was trying to give him a chance XD

[Cloud Strife]

Aanu wasn't stupid. He knew that Jarl was allowing him to grab another sword. Heh, and who was he to disappoint? So, quickly he snatched up another sword and in one fluid, successive maneuver, he would lunge foreward in a feint attack, only to lean backwards and lunge at him a second time; attempting to connect blades with him. The first was a fake-out. Hah, this fight would go on for hours...even if Aanu was tired. >:3