We Are Of Nightblood

[Halie]

It was a cold day, perpetrated by the low laying fog covering Polis. Some wispy tendrils escaped into Polis Tower itself. The only thing that kept the cold slightly at bay were the torches lining rooms and halls. In one such fire filled room, located near the top of the tower, sat Halie. She had just finished arranging her weapons and had selected a one handed short sword and a dagger. Selected them for the practice fight. She finished getting ready, and set out across the Tower to a small, open room. The defining feature of the room was a circle made of ceramic tile in the center. Scratch marks could be seen throughout the floor inside the circle, and the reason was apparent. It was for practice fighting, especially for the Nightbloods. It was why Halie was here. To prep for the conclave, which hopefully would not be soon.

She entered the room softly, and flicked her right wrist so that the dagger, which had been previously sheathed on her arm, lay in her palm. Her eyes quickly scanned the room, searching for her friend, and soon to be opponent inside the ring. Seeing no one, the blonde strode toward the window. She stared out at the city, a place where she had rarely been. She was thinking about the few times she had gone to the forest, to practice with Heda, when soft footsteps could be heard outside the door. She palmed both weapons, and made sure to slow her breathing so it could not be heard. She slipped to one side of the door as it freaked open. A figure entered the room, and she twirled around, facing the person, while aiming her sword right at their throat.

Tags: Aden

[Aden]

Aden made his way slowly along the hall, he held a sword firmly in his right hand and a small knife was tucked into his belt. He'd agreed to meet Halie to train earlier that morning, the girl was a year younger than him but he did not doubt her abilities as a warrior. He'd seen her fight and had often sparred with her, she was a talented warrior. Sparring between the nightbloods was not uncommon, they trained regularly to prepare themselves for their conclave whilst also attending lessons with the Heda to learn about what it meant to be the commander. The boy knew that a commanders life expectancy was short but he didn't think his own conclave would be any time soon, but still the unrelenting training continued. Their teachers knew that they had a limited time to prepare the children for their conclave and as a result sparring with their peers was a regular occurrence.

As the boy drew up outside the door, he hesitated, taking the time to listen intently for any signs of life inside the room. He knew that due to his dawdling Halie was probably inside, waiting for him but he heard nothing on the other side of the door. Pushing the door open cautiously, he took a couple of steps inside the room, uneasily his grip tightened around his sword, his knuckles turning white. Suddenly he noticed a flash of steel in the edge of his vision and only his razor sharp reflexes saved him from the blade that the young girl had swung at his throat as he brought his sword up to block the attack. Grunting with the effort of keeping the blade away from his throat, he glanced down and swallowed nervously as he realised how close she'd come. Of course, killing in training like this was forbidden, not that any of the children would want to seriously harm each other, they were like siblings, none of them had biological relatives to support them and so they looked to each other. Aden aimed a kick at the girls stomach, it wasn't hard enough to send her toppling over, just enough to send her stumbling backwards so that he was in a better position to receive her next attack or launch a counter attack of his own if he wished.

Halie

[Halie]

She anticipated Aden's move from below the waist, as she had pinned him up top by the neck with her sword. She moved quickly to the side, his foot grazing her ribs. Her sword still pointed at his throat. She began to laugh. It was a pretty sound, and filled the empty chamber. "Kom yu ai gona!" She exclaimed. It was a traditional warrior's greeting, meaning 'to you my fellow warrior'. She was glad to see him, as their training had increased lately, most likely from the threat of Skaikru and their Chancellor, Pike. She wanted to catch up with her friend, but that could wait. There was a fight to be fought, and all other trivial matters needed to be put aside.

"Ready?" She asked in accented English, stepping gracefully into the tile circle. She smiled slightly, widening her stance. Her sword and dagger were in each hand, and held firm but loose, to allow for easy movement. She looked over at Aden, and checked to make sure he was ready. It was proper etiquette to do so. She closed her eyes, focusing her energy. Her bright green eyes snapped open, and there was a fierceness not there before. It was time to fight.

Tags: Aden

[Aden]

Aden scowled as Halie dodged his foot and was relieved when she stepped back, retreating back to the tile circle where their fight could really begin. The boy made sure to carefully close the door to the room so that the sounds of their fight would not disturb and distract anyone else in the tower. "I'm always ready" Aden shot back at his friend, a smirk on his face as he repositioned his grip on his sword. Once the thought of fighting had terrified him, but he was no longer the child that he had been when he'd first arrived in Polis, he was a warrior now and a skilled one at that. Walking cautiously forward, he entered the ring and eyed the weapons that the girl carried, she held a sword and a dagger, they were similar to the weapons he possessed. He knew how he could defeat this girl, he just needed to outsmart her and make sure that she couldn't guess at what his attacks would be before he made a move against her.

His blue eyes scanned Halie's body, looking for signs of weakness but he could see no obvious weaknesses in her stance, he licked his lips slowly as he thought over what his first attack should be. His eyes flashed as he suddenly thought of something, lunging forwards her aimed a cut at the girls legs knowing that she'd probably be expecting him to aim for higher up on her body, perhaps at her head or her stomach. Aden was familiar with a lot of the other nightbloods tactics and their preferred fighting style as he often sparred with them. It was vital that they kept their senses sharp as one day it would be the difference between life or death.

Halie

[Halie]

Halie noticed Aden checking her position, so she did the same to him. No flaws were apparent, so she lifted her sword arm up slightly seeing that would be where he was most likely to attack. He lashed out, but lower then she expected. Her dagger barely blocked the sword, and it's tip cut open her pants. She scowled slightly, annoyed. The girl now knew this strategy, and would be prepared. She slowly walked backwards, stopping when her heels hit a wooden block whose edge was barely inside the circle. She leaped backwards onto it, knowing height was usually an advantage. But a better advantage was being behind your opponent.

Remembering one of their movement lessons, Halie quickly sheathed her weapons and jumped of the box pn the balls of her feet. The box's height helped her jump over Aden, and training helped her land softly behind him. She spun around quickly, unsheathing her dagger and sword. She raised her dagger to where his neck would be, and slashed in an ark to where his torso would be. She herself ducked to the level of her blades, in case he struck back, which he probably would.

Tags: Aden

[Aden]

Aden scowled as she blocked his attack but couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped him at the look of annoyance that flickered across her face as he tore a hole in her pants. As she began to back away from him the boy became confused, this wasn't usually how she fought but he pursued her anyway. Sword raised to counter any attack she made, but none came until suddenly she jumped backwards to land upon a block of wood to give her a height advantage. He watched as she sheathed her weapons which only caused him to get more confused before she leaped over him.

Spinning around as she landed behind him, he just managed to bring his sword up to block her but ended up stumbling backwards to avoid her blades. Scowling at the girl that had surprised him, he took a step forward adjusting his grip on his sword as he retaliated by aiming a vicious cut to her neck. He'd never seen Halie use a move like that, it wasn't something he had expected from her and so he made a mental note to be cautious when sparring with her.

Halie