Stella Luna Academy

Rhode stood up front of the observation room, watching the ongoing duel without mirth. His powerful frame was a statue of bristling frustration amongst the spectator’s cheers and whistles, their growing excitement filling the room with a buzzing warmth. He cursed the Dean of Discipline’s name all the while as the fiery arena reflected of his hooded eyes and coated his leather jacket with a deep red, his attention obviously elsewhere. He’d been given watch duty today as punishment for his earlier behaviour, and given Rhode’s abhorrence for VR battles, the Dean certainly knew how to toy with him.

Placing a trembling hand against the window sill which separated the audience from the VR room, his gaze levelled down at the two students below. The dark figures of Anya Roscoe and Anne Patra danced out in front of him, the twin blades and spear creating explosive sparks with each parry. Anya was a fast thinker, highly analytical to the point of obsessive. Rhode was impressed by how quickly she was acting. Anne on the other hand was headstrong to the point of foolhardy. Even Rhode had to admit he was entertained if not for the looming cloud of the Dean overshadowing him, a rare occasion indeed given his dislike for VR battles, such finesse was usually only seen amongst his year, the seniors.

“Mind stepping back from the windows there, sir? You’re ruining the mood with that face,” a suave voice cut in curtly.

Turning to the source of the intrusion, Rhode’s eyes fell upon the lithe figure of Janice, his senior in the security team, although that wasn't difficult to achieve given he was also the likely the youngest senior in terms of age. He watched as she stepped slowly towards him, the crowds seemingly dispersing to make space for her to pass. The dark uniform of the discipline squad hugged at her athletic figure, rolling over the curves of her body in a fashion most found incredibly enchanting. Stopping a meter back, her rosy lips smiled coyly at him, causing his eyes to twitch in a manner of disgust. “Lost it on the job again?” Her tone slithering mockingly of the tip of her tongue like a snake, “All these years and we thought even you would’ve learnt by now.”

Of course he was being reprimanded, that was the only reason he was ever inside of the VR room outside of the occasional duel. Rhode scoffed finally as he lifted his hand from the aluminium frame, realising the pressure of his grip had crushed the metal formwork. “So, I have to share watch duty with you then?” Rhode asked rhetorically.

“Whose fault is it for not having a partner even though they’re a senior?” Janice’s grin could only widen as she joined him in watching the match below. The proceedings had fallen eerily silent around them as an announcement blared over the speakers then. The broadcast informed every one of the implications of the match’s outcome, but to them it mattered little, the discipline squad were an impartial force of their own. "Reminds you of our earlier days though doesn't it?"

Lance's gaze was interrupted when a figure entered his line of vision. Wearing a leather jacket tinted red from the lava from the arena and hooded eyes, Lance knew exactly who that was. Of course, it could've been anyone who wore a leather jacket and had hooded eyes, but no one looked more badass in doing so...it was Rhode Handerson. Rhode had been the one to show him and his group around on introductory day. What Lance liked about him most was his true love for violence. He followed his own code and didn't seem to care about anyone else, nor did he really seem to tolerate anyone else running his job or his life. He was his own true master and no one was puppeteering him. Lance tended to draw towards people like that...rebels who lived by their own ruled.

"Excuse me for a moment, guys," he whispered to the group before heading towards the window. He could tell that Rhode was suffering just a little bit. He'd probably used force, again, when force wasn't really necesarily and now he was being punished for it. Lance wanted to relieve some of his bad mood.

Walking up to him, he ignored the girl he was originally talking to as it seemed that she seemed to aggravate him. Best try to remove her from the picture... he though as he finally reached the two. "Oh hey, Rhode. How's it going?" he asked, nonchalantly, knowing that the answer wasn't going to be something positive. It was dead obvious that this was punishment to him and he cursed himself in his head for being so dumb in not realizing this sooner. He liked making friends, not enemies...

"Oh hey, Rhode. How's it going?"

Rhode and Janice looked around simultaneously as Lance’s voice called out to them, their eyes regarding first year with curiosity. There was a brief hesitation in his step that suggested the first-year was reluctant to join them, but both disciplinary squad members simply attributed it to the venomous presence of Rhode.

Janice nudged at his waist subtly as they exchanged glances, her hushed voice becoming abruptly stern, “Now be nice to the first-years.” She perked up then, plastering a smile over her face as she spoke openly, “I’ll go check on the other stands, don’t slack off too much Rhode,” she waved before turning on her heels.

Rhode could only frown in response to the Lance’s question, his hooded eyes becoming ever so slightly more sinister. He sighed then as if to release the entirety of his built up tension as he eyes fell on first-year again.

“How does it look like it’s going?” Rhode snorted, a low hiss of anger amidst the ongoing silence. An expression of boredom twisting over his sharp features as he watched after Janice until she was out of earshot. His attention snapped back at Lance then, measuring the boy up and down. Finally, a single cruel smirk tugged at the corner of his lips, “Cheers for the assistance though," he offered, regardless of intentions the boy did inadvertently help him by getting Janice out of his hair for the time being. "Here to enjoy the fight? Or even request a duel perhaps?" he asked, deciding to indulge in the boy's question. "I'm sorry, i didn't catch your name either? Terrible memory here"

Rhode and the girl he was talking too both stopped and turned to him. Lance, somewhat, blushed uncomfortably as there was an awkward silence between the two. But that could also be contributing to the silenced crowd, watching the fight.

Finally, the girl made the first move, elbowing Rhode in what seemed to be a playful manner before she spoke to him too hushed for Lance to hear and leaving with a wave. Now it was just him and Rhode.

“How does it look like it’s going?” Rhode hissed at him, his expression seeming to darken. Lance, once again, cursed himself for asking that dumb question. Then, Rhode smirked. "Cheers for the assistance though," Lance was confused at first. Assistance for what? Then he remembered how annoyed he was sounding when talking to the girl earlier, so he must've been talking about her. He just shrugged modestly in response.

"Here to enjoy the fight? Or even request a duel perhaps?" he asked, "I'm sorry, i didn't catch your name either? Terrible memory here"

"Oh," Lance replied,"It's Lance...Lance Walsh." He extended his hand,"And I'm here to watch the fight. I actually know both Anne and Anya. It's a good fight going on down there, huh?" He turned to the arena, where the fight was still raging. "And I might duel you...sometime later though, because I'm still a little new here. But still old enough to hear the crazy stories I've heard about Rhode Handerson." He grinned, turning back to Rhode.

The moment the blades snapped, their wielder was in motion. Before Anne could finish thinking over what had happened, Anya would have to strike. Leaping forward as her enemy steadied herself, raising her spear and preparing to begin spinning it defensively, the dual blades user had spread her hands once again, light forming between her fingertips as she gathered her concentration, focused her energy, and generated her next set of weapons.

"I am a sword," Anya said darkly as the blades took form, her voice given an unnatural booming echo as it resounded over the loudspeakers, clearly audible in the silence following the announcement in the stands. "And you... will fall by my blade!" She finished, grasping the blades and raising them with a fierce grin. She had closed the distance between them in an instant, and before Anne's spear could even begin its second rotation, Anya had struck. Bringing down her Lunar Blade upon the head of Anne's spear as it began to rotate a second time, Anya disrupted the motion of the circle by parrying the enemy's lance with its own momentum, beating it against the ground and using the force her enemy had put into it to knock her off balance. In an instant, the Solar Blade had been brought upward for a vicious cut at the enemy's throat. However, the haft of the enemy's spear was already raised in front of her. It would be a simple motion to brace herself on her front foot and bring up the butt of the lance to deflect the incoming blade. Even with her eyes rendered useless, the sound of the incoming blade would be enough to warn her of its approach. The attack would be blocked.

But, that was exactly was Anya wanted. At that moment, she swept out her left foot and leveled a savage kick at her enemy's right kneecap, which she predicted would be bearing most of her weight so as to block the incoming sword and steady her balance while doing so. This time, however, Anya didn't aim to trip Anne. This attack would, if it connected, surely shatter her knee. With her vision momentarily impaired by the dissipating blades, she wouldn't be able to see Anya's movements, meaning the kick would be entirely invisible to her. She was done playing games. Her analysis of the enemy's combat style was complete. Now, she would act upon it, and eliminate the lancer.

Drawing back her Lunar Blade from where it had held the lance's head at bay, Anya used the momentum of her kick to bring her back foot around behind her, pivoting beneath Anne's upraised guard to evade the predictable counterattack from the rising lance whilst simultaneously bringing up her Lunar Blade to deal a strike across Anne's chest, spinning her Solar Blade around backhanded as she drew it back and following through with a downward blow at the back of Anne's right shoulder, aiming to completely immobilize her right side with this series of rapid attacks.

But she wasn't done yet. She could still attack more, and faster! She would absolutely, completely, and utterly eliminate her enemy.

Flicking her Solar Blade to the side, she slashed up again, aiming to drag it across Anne's back and slash clear to the opposite shoulder. At the same time, she struck down with her Lunar Blade, aiming to cut through Anne's neck and join her Solar Blade as she tore out of Anne's left side. Then, predicting that the enemy would likely turn about to counter, she took one final step, bringing herself about with all of her might and crossing her blades in front of her as a means of guarding her vitals against any final attack. The light of the hellish flames burning also in her emerald eyes, her face a mask of steely resolve and pure killing intent, she struck upward simultaneously at Anne's vitals, aiming to completely rip her body apart with the weight of her combined flurry of blows. She had created a rectangular cage of sword strokes around her target, moving constantly in Anne's blind spot and just out of reach of a counterattack, dancing along the lava's edge as she showered attacks down upon her target, attacking eight times within a matter of seconds. Likely, most in the audience would have only seen a single, continuous cut from both swords, rather than the multiple, lightning-fast blows she had mercilessly repeated as she moved in the blink of an eye. Blinded as Anne was, it would be difficult, if not outright impossible to predict the path of each blow before it could cut her, even with her experience at fighting without her sight. Even if Anya would now be slightly open for a counterattack, it was doubtful that there would even be an enemy left to deal that blow. Even if Anne did survive the sudden attack, several blows had been directed at crippling points on her limbs. Her movements would likely be sloppy, and unbalanced thanks to having had to withstand the force of so many powerful direct attacks, and, with the possible loss of mobility in both her arms and her right leg, she would probably telegraph any movement she might make before completing it, giving Anya a chance to at least partially escape a blow, even at such close quarters. Her attacks had thus been coordinated to deal the maximum amount of damage, with the highest chance of absolute success. And, if Anne failed to block one, it was highly likely that the follow-up would have torn through her guard, clearing the way for the attack after it, thus consuming her with overwhelming force. While survival was not impossible, survival unscathed would have been nothing short of a miracle. Still, the only blows that would have been considered lethal were the attacks aimed at her chest and the back of her throat. If she could merely escape those, then she would have a chance of living.

"I've finished memorizing you. Now then... die."

(Combos ARE Anya's specialty. While I'm hoping that this duel doesn't end quite yet, I did want to do something in character by making a stream of constant attacks that would be rather difficult to defend against. Enjoy!)

Anne was surronded in complete darkness, save for one tiny area directly in front of her. "Even the tiniest of light is better than nothing." She remembered in her darkness training. It didn't matter what she saw, only to do what her body felt was the proper course of action. She heard Anya jump up in the air, and she knew she was going for new blades. She predicted than she would try to stop the rotation of her spear with one and attack with the other. This was proven true when she felt something stop the path of the spear, adn she knew instintivly to go upward. So she, using the force left by ANya to land and stop her blade, jumped up using the the spear, and heard the other blade going for a strike. When she landed, she heard her say she was a blade, and that she would fall. "Good, she is starting to rely on emotion, which means she'll get faster, but also sloppier." She thought to herself.

Just then she felt something attack her leg, it was Anya's leg. The force she used on it was amazing, and anything stronger would have completely destroyed her ability to walk. This, however, didn't stop her from yelling when it connected. It hurt, like being stunk by a bee with a switchblade a thousand times. She couldn't elt herself fall, so she quickly, jumped off that leg, focusing her weight on the other, and went for another kick. It was swift, and was used only so she could regain balance. It worked, and she was now spinning on her one leg, with the help of her shoes.

All the while, she was twirling the spear completely around her, using one of the faster spins it could manage. She heard one blade coming for a direct attack, which she made she didn't hit by smacking her wrist, making the blade fall off it's path. "Be prepared, this will be brutal." She told herself.

This next couple of seconds were fuzzy for her, she wasn't thinking at all. She moved using her muscle memory, responding only to sounds that most people couldn't hear. She felt the baldes attack rapidly, coming from different places every time, "How is she moving so quickly." She htought to herself. Just then, a very strong one broke through her defence. It stabbed her in her right shoulder while she was behind. Had she been facing her oppenent, it probably would have been a fatal blow. She couldn't let the pain stop her, she never let it did before. Fortunatly, it was a somewhat shallow blow, and thanks to her spinning, she quickly turned around, taking the balde with her spin. "One down." She thought, before going on the offensive.

She couldn't use her right leg, and her right arm was comprimised. This would make it difficult for her, not to mention the blindness, but a small amount of vision had returned, allowing her a somewhat larger range. She then heard Anya say with bloody murder that she was going to kill her. "NOT TODAY!" She yelled back at her, and knew she had to use the last of her strengh to win. She quickly, began to shift her weight, making her spin towards the girl. Fortunatly, she was at close range, further range would have been a no. She began a random, even be her accounts, stroke at her. She made sure each blow was tiny, so it could be spun back. The bladewould not likely make contact, but she still put it in, even if it didn't cut her, the hotness would hurt her. She aimed for were she assumed the arms would be, "No arms, no chance." She reminded herself. She then quickly thought of Claire Patra, the only other spear user in her family. She was the greatest spear users in the world, but died around 400 years ago. Anne knew her story, and every time she thougth about it, she became better when fighting. "I WILL MAKE MY ANCESTORS PROUD!" She shouted in her head, still continuing her barrage of attacks.

A loud clang rent the air as Anya's finishing blow was halted by an abrupt slash from Anne, whose spear struck the center of the crossed Lunar and Solar Blades, barely turned away by a last second defense. Even still, it grazed the top of Anya's left shoulder, doing some slight damage thanks to the lava: an actual registered hit, unlike the others. Although it wouldn't overwhelmingly affect her performance, it would force her to alter her timing somewhat, or else risk over-anticipating the speed of her own movements.

Despite the successful blows she had thought would surely cripple Anne's right leg and arm, it seemed the lancer could still move. And, although her attacks were somewhat weaker than before, they were just as fast, if not faster, now that the spearwoman was getting desperate. As Anne twisted her spear, bringing it back up in an attack seemingly aimed for the blademaster's arms, Anya turned her left-hand Solar Blade to bring it between her and the incoming spear head, twisting the weapon's path outward to bring it past her as she darted forward, slashing up at Anne's now slightly overextended left arm with her Lunar Blade, aiming to sever her hand at the wrist, a wound which, if correctly executed, would render her almost incapable of continuing to wield her oversized weapon. Anya was hoping that her enemy's leg wound would destabilize her balance enough to render her incapable of escaping from this counterattack, but, she realized, Anne wasn't putting enough force into her blows to render her overbalanced. The control she still had over her spear meant she could quickly retaliate, which meant a hasty retreat was necessary before she could work her spear around the silver scimitar that had deflected it. Leaping into the air, Anya flipped over backwards, hurling her twin blades as she did so in the hopes that the sudden change in attack style would confuse her into slipping up, although even if it did not, Anne's defenses might have been slowed enough by her successful attacks that Anya's thrown weaponry would be enough to break through the gap and finish her. Still...

The blades broke at the end of their flight, whether upon the haft of Anne's spear or upon the ground where she had stood, dissipating with a flash as Anya once again began summoning weaponry. This was starting to tire her, especially considering the fact that she had already fought a fairly taxing battle just a few hours previously. Still, she could continue fighting. There was no way mere physical tiredness would be enough to hinder her at this level.

Two more blades appeared in her hands, and she braced herself, preparing to leap forward and continue the attack.

Before Rhode could reply, Lance had turned back to the fight. Anne was hurt...seriously hurt. Anya had managed to break her right knee and disable her right arm, making her entire right side useless. Lance's favor to win was slowly heading for Anya...

But Anne wasn't done yet. Her right side may be done for, but her left side couldn't be any more helpful. Rapid attacks by Anne actually led to a wound on Anya. Now it was as if Lance suddenly realized that Anya wasn't invincible. She may be a prodigy, but she could still be defeated.

Anya retaliated, slashing at Anne's left hand to try and disarm her, then flipped backwards, tossing her blades at Anne as she did so. There was a flash and Lance didn't know if the blades hit Anne or not. It was too bright to tell. Still, he could see the fatigue on Anya's face as she was growing tired. It made sense, since this was her second fight today. If this kept up much longer, they may have to reschedule their spar a couple of days later, but that might give him time to rest up his hand, which was beginning to get sore. Meanwhile, Anya had conjured her third pair of blades and was back on the offensive...

"Oh, it's Lance...Lance Walsh." Lance extended his hand out by way of introduction. Well, they said you tell a lot about a man from his hand shake so Rhode extended his own and shook it with a vicious grip. Lance’s palms were soft, his grasp loose yet confident indicating the hallmarks of a free spirited soul. He nodded as he followed Lance’s gaze down to the ferocious display of martial prowess beneath them.

"And I'm here to watch the fight. I actually know both Anne and Anya. It's a good fight going on down there, huh?" Lance said with no small measure of admiration, gesturing towards the arena as his eyes motioning to the ongoing duel with equal excitement. Rhode simply nodded again in reply, relinquishing the hidden ‘but’ which tugged at the bottom of his mind. Certainly for a first year this kind of drawn out duel would’ve been a rare occasion indeed, with most first year battles tending to end in overwhelming defeats. As they watched it became clear that Anne was slowly recovering her eyesight, her movements becoming ever so slightly more precise with each stroke. Anya looked equally tired and drawn out as she leapt back, her blades snapping only to be resummoned a moment later.

“Oh?” Rhode mused, “Is one of them your partner perhaps?”

"And I might duel you...sometime later though, because I'm still a little new here. But still old enough to hear the crazy stories I've heard about Rhode Handerson.” Lance grinned finally.

Rhode almost licked in lips in anticipation, “I look forwards to that Walsh, come at me with all you have,” he smirked.

Anne was still spinning, she knew ANya had moved, but she couldn't let her gaurd down. Her vision was returning, and she could see something comming towards her. It was Anya with a sword, going after her left hand, "No, you don't." She thought, as she moved her arm and right leg, so she was standing at a near vertical line. She then hit her hander on the hand as she completed the attack.

It seemed to have some effect, as she jumped backwards. When she did this, she saw her throw her blades. She had to deflect. She tiwsted, so they both landed closer to Anya. She closer her eyes for the explosion, to make sure the blast didn't get her twice. It worked, thank goodness, but she was getting tired. She could only keep up her spinning for so long. Fortunatly, Anya had moved back, but she had created her third set of weapons, "My body might be breaking, but creating that many weapons has a strain on her as well." She thought to herself, as she came up with ehr next plan of attack.

Anya was clearly waiting for her to make a move, so she could stop her spinning for now. She had stopped, although she had to use the spear so she wouldn't fall over, due to her knee. This fight was becoming more deadly by the moment, and Anne knew she only had so much energy left, even for a Patra.

Her next move was to put her foot down, which hurt her. In an instant, she snapped her leg back into place by whacking it with the spear. It was a cheap fix up, but it allowed her to retain some more balance than she had already. Next, she began focusing on her sight, it was returning, but slowly. Right now she could process around the area that Anya would take up. "Alright, time for a Claire Patra move." She thought to herself. A Claire Patra move was an attack that only could and would be taught to a spear user of her family. It was powerful, but took up a lot of energy, and she knew she would only have one shot at it.

She put her spear back into the lava, and then quickly jumped into the air with her one good leg. Once in the air, She began to spin around very rapidly, making the lava on the spear fly everywhere. She then began her downward motion. She couldn't tell if Anya had dodgeed the lava, but it was important. Once she was aorund five feet off the ground, she planted her spear in the ground, and used it to focus her momentum in the direction that Anya was in. Once she had refocus the engergy, she shot off with her spear, at an massive speed. Anne had learned this move four years ago, and it was difficult. While heading towards Anya, she began to spin herself in a circular motion. This increased her speed, but also the way she held the spear, it increased the range at which it would hit. Should she try to jump, Anne could put her foot on the ground, and spring upward, chasing her. Should she try to deflect with her blades, they would likely break, and that would give her a chance to knock her out with a sweep mid-air. The island was too small to avoid by moving out of the way, so she knew this move would be rahter difficult to avoid.

In mid-air, she shouted, "Patra Style: One Way Fang!" God knows what would have happened if she could do two or even three way fang, but this is all she could afford to do.

Lance turned back to Rhode when he replied. "Oh, is one of them your partner perhaps?" Lance blushed, but it was barely noticeable with the light of the lava reflecting through the glass. "Um...no, not really. But Anne's a friend of mine and Anya...well Anya was intrigued by my fighting style this afternoon, so I don't exactly know what I would call her...possibly a future sparring partner, but the same could be said for Anne as well..." His voice trailed off as he shifted into thought.

It was what Rhode said next that brought him back. “I look forwards to that Walsh, come at me with all you have." Lance admired his confident attitude, but when you have a reputation like him, it was kind of hard not to feel confident about yourself. Lance only smiled to the smirk on Rhode's face. "If I did that now, then I'd be mince meat. I could handle Bruno Jackson, but people like you and Anya...now I need a little bit more training before I take you up on that offer because I don't have much to come at you guys with right now." Lance turned back to the fight. Anne had effectively deflected both Anya's last stroke and her blade toss. She even dodged the flash of light that was supposed to render her sightless, like the first time. She caught on quickly, even though she was only a first year.

And then Anne tried something unexpected. Anne launched herself in the air, spreading lava everywhere. But the lava was only a distraction. As she descended, Anya used the spear to launch herself in Anya's direction with incredible speed and a battle cry: "Patra Style: One Way Fang!" It was the very first words he had heard throughout the entire fight from Anne and it seemed as if they would be her last as well. Lance could only look on, in suspense, at what Anya would try to deflect Anne's attack.

Anya cut off her charge abruptly as Anne countered yet again, this time beginning a rather absurdly showy technique consisting of an aerial spin, releasing a shower of sparks and magma globules from the tip of the lancer's spear. Still, there was only so far that this attack could reach, making it rather easy to evade by simply leaping backward and letting the lava storm land where she had been just a moment before. The move that followed it, however, was not so simple.

Planting her spearhead in the earth, Anne did a completely ridiculous attack in the form of rotating herself upside down around her own spear, using the momentum thus generated to catapult herself forward, continuing her spin in mid air to turn herself into what essentially amounted to a flying human buzz-saw. But, Anya could see that her legs were extended rather than tucked in, which seemed tactically foolish. Tucking in one's legs would reduce air resistance, meaning she would have spun faster had she fully compacted herself. However, with her legs extended, she could place whichever happened to be in front and use it to vault herself upward in case Anya attempted to escape. So that was what she was after? Well, in such close quarters, there wasn't any way to dodge but up, and staying on the ground in a foolhardy attempt to block would mean taking a sure-kill stroke.

Then there were two options available to her. First, she could quickly call the names of her twin blades, reverting each to its Type-TRUE form, and deflect with one while counterattacking with the other. In that state, they'd be durable enough to withstand the force of the blow, and powerful enough to "kill" Anne in one swing. However, the sheer impact of Anne's attack would make a one-handed defense impossible. The enemy's lance would drive into Anya's side and deal a wound that, after a few moments, would certainly be fatal. Even though Anya will eliminate Anne with her counterattack, she, too, would be felled, resulting in a mutual kill.

The second option would be to dodge up, then. Anne would, however, follow her, and deal the blow intended to kill her in the air. But, there were five key issues with this. Firstly, Anne had begun her spinning motion by using the strength of her arms, one of which was seriously injured. Therefore, her spin, while formidable, was not at its maximum level. As it was, Anya could clearly see each rotation as she flew, which in turn would allow her to predict which foot Anne would have forward should she terminate the spin at any given time. This, in turn, led to the next issue: Anne's right leg had been dislocated, and, although she seemed to have knocked it at least partially into place, such an abrupt halt would surely snap the limb completely. Anne knew this. Therefore, if Anya jumped when her right foot was forward, she would have no choice but to wait until she could stop with her left foot, something which would delay her ever so slightly, causing her to partially overshoot Anya should she jump. Thirdly, once in the air, Anne would have terminated her spin to leap, thus depriving her of her most threatening aspect: her momentum. In the air, there would be no way to brace herself for an attack, either, and with her arm injured, an attack in the air would have much, much less of an impact. That meant it could be blocked. Fourthly, by spinning herself to such an extent, Anne had without a doubt disoriented herself. She would be dizzy, which would make her hand-eye coordination sloppy at best. If she could be induced to overshoot Anya slightly, even the smallest change of descent course by the Blademaster in her fall would be enough to throw off Anne's aim, causing her to miss her target and expose herself to Anya's counterattack. Since she'd be unable to brace herself, a mid-air defense would be impossible. And, finally, once she leaped, dodging Anya's attack would also be completely impossible.

In short, while the technique was quite impressive and powerful in theory, Anne had waited so long to use it that it could now be escaped from. This realization took Anya only a second, and at that point, all there was left for her to do was to act upon it.

Timing her leap perfectly, Anya waited until Anne was close, with her right foot forward, and then leaped into the air, aiming her jump ever so slightly forward, but mostly up. Moving as fast as Anne was, analyzing the actual course of her target's flight would prove impossible. She would only realize Anya's true intent after she, too, leaped and attempted to end her.

At this point, the battle could take one of two courses. Anne, having begun her attack, would have to stop herself regardless of her decision to jump or not, now that her enemy had evaded her and she was flying only towards a cliff, over the brink of which was a pit of lava. First - and most unlikely - Anne could fail to notice which leg she was landing on, and, in a reckless attempt to catch her target, break her own limb and, failing to terminate her momentum, go flying embarrassingly off of the island and fall to her fiery demise. But, Anya predicted that she would realize the necessity of waiting an extra rotation to stop herself, and would flip another time before jumping after her target - or stopping where she was and turning about, but Anya didn't see this as likely, considering her opponent's determination. To cut off such a forceful attack and suddenly go on the defensive for no logical reason would make no tactical sense, and it would show to her enemy that she was scared out of her wits. It wasn't an option, at this juncture.

In short, the most likely course of events would be that Anne would leap up into the air from a point just a little too far for her liking. Then, as Anya reached the apex of her leap, Anne would come rushing up and attempt a strike directly at her opponent. In Anne's tactical forecast, this would result in Anya's instant elimination. But, the blademaster had a different plan.

Reaching the end up her upward flight, Anya's forward momentum abruptly took effect, causing her to suddenly flip over in mid air without warning, moving almost entirely out of the path of Anne's counterattack. At this point, should Anne have jumped, Anya's swords would be positioned perfectly, both leveled at point blank range in Anne's blind spot, with her spear nowhere to be found to defend herself. No, even if she did attack conservatively, and maintained enough control of her spear to block the attack, it wouldn't matter. It had the full weight of Anya's body behind it, and would only be aided by the weight of its target and her oversized weapon. Should Anne block it, the impact would be enough to knock her straight into the lava, with no surface upon which she could steady herself. Her only option would be to twist and contort herself in the hopes of somehow surviving the direct impact of two blades across her back.

"Technique memorized," Anya stated simply, almost boredly, preparing to lunge in and deal the final blow. Should Anne have jumped, it was now all over.

Though he couldn’t see the colour of the boy’s complexion, Rhode understood he was blushing at the thought of his earlier comment, "Um...no, not really. But Anne's a friend of mine and Anya...well Anya was intrigued by my fighting style this afternoon, so I don't exactly know what I would call her...possibly a future sparring partner, but the same could be said for Anne as well...". His lips curled with amusement as Rhode gave a twisted shadow of a chuckle in response. Maybe it wasn’t obvious to Lance, but Rhode could see the boy flicking his eyes towards Anne more than Anya.

Rhode span open the cap of his canteen and poured its contents down his throat, he needed something with wash mouth with. Lance had a frank and honest streak about him which Rhode found admirable, even refreshing in a sense. On the other hand, Stella Luna academy had the potential to be a much darker and crueller place that any sane mind could imagine. He mused to himself quietly, wondering if the boy would hold the same attitude a year from now.

Lance continued to speak as he endeavoured to answer Rhode’s original question, "If I did that now, then I'd be minced meat. I could handle Bruno Jackson, but people like you and Anya...now I need a little bit more training before I take you up on that offer because I don't have much to come at you guys with right now."

“Heh, well it’s my job to intimidate everyone,” Rhode shrugged. It was a simple statement that stabbed at the true purpose of the discipline squad, to control great power you needed an even greater power to rein it in. Rhode’s cold expression seemed bored almost as he affixed his gaze to the duel once more, “Careful not to get too caught up in these VR battles though. Sparring to improve your skill is fine but the real enemy is out there, and they are far from human.” Rhode grinned and paced away after that as he felt Janice's presence tug at the back of his senses.

Anne spinning was starting to make her dizzy, but she knew how to handle it, althought her stroke's would be off, she just needed one good strike to finish her. She knew the risks of this move, but she also knew the different paths she oculd use to make it better.

She saw Anya jump up in the air, which was expected, she probably knew as well that her blades couldn't have taken the blunt of her attack. She was also able to plan that her right leg wasn't strong enough for her to land on, so she had to wait an extra moment for her body to ajust to the left leg. Once her spin allowed her to do so, she stepped off, and kicked her foot at the ground. This motion would put her at an angle that her oppenent could counter. She turned at a quick angle, and thrust herself up at the girl. She was counting on the fact that Anya would try to deflect her, but she could always use the spear to break the swords again. Dispite the fact she knew this would be her final move, she put any energy she had left in her body, and forced her spinning to go even faster, makng sure she earned the right to wear her tribal paint.

The spinning would mean that even with a solid defence and count planned, she would be going to fast for her to use the blades to stop her, making sure that she hit her target. She took this moment to say sorry to her ancestors, as she knew she would likely fail, but was struck by courage not to give up until someone falls. Her spinning continued, as she tucked in her legs, making it an even faster stroke, her vision had returned to most of it's usual range. She saw that the way that Anya was holding her blades, she had a counter ready. As she was closer enough for an attack to reach, she continued the spin, making sure that Anya didn't make it out of this attack.

Despite the apparent impossibility of the endeavor, Anne defied Anya's conventional analysis by doing something that, by all rights, should have been impossible. Even though she halted her momentum by bracing for the jump, she somehow managed to instantly regain it despite the laws of motion that dictated that this shouldn't have been able to happen. On top of this, she somehow altered her trajectory in midair without overturning herself to do so, retaining her balance and seemingly performing a sort of second leap off of thin air to twist herself about and direct herself straight at Anya, even though she had no footing upon which to brace herself. Anya, however, whose agility was admittedly at the level of being called superhuman, remained unfazed by this, and made a mental note that the Patra's agility apparently exceeded the limitations of physics and reality, and resolved not to be fooled by this tactic a second time.

At this point, she still had the option to aim for a mutual kill, but Anya was firmly set in avoiding this until the last possible moment. No, she still had a chance to defend herself, so that was what she would do.

Throwing her weight to the side, Anya managed to move her vitals out of the way of the incoming stroke. And not a moment too soon, for in the next instant, the whirling spear struck down against her Lunar Blade as she raised it to protect herself, trying to turn the head of the spear away from herself as it connected, digging into her right side as the blade in her left, while keeping it from turning and cutting her in two, failed to withstand the impact and shattered. With a practiced hand, Anya flicked the fragmented but nonetheless sharp hilt of the sword at Anne's eye, hoping to partially blind her as a way of distracting her from the final blow she intended to deal. With her now-free left hand as well as her right, she braced the Solar Blade, and as Anne's momentum carried her past her target, her lance now pinned beneath Anya's right arm as it cut across her side - this protecting her from a slash through her body, as well as keeping her enemy from drawing back her weapon or even raising its haft to protect herself - she struck. Even with Anne's ability to redirect the course of her flight mid-air, this blow was at far too close a range. The two were within arm's reach of each other, and at this juncture, even if she launched herself away, she would have to abandon her weapon to do so, an act which would surely defeat her if she managed to escape at all. And, with her spear trapped thanks to the injury Anya had allowed herself to sustain, Anne would also be unable to turn away the empowered blade by that means either. While she might attempt to divert its course by shielding herself with her arms, doing so would surely result in complete dismemberment, a condition which would cause her to lose the fight regardless. Anya was sure of it, now. This was the ending. It had to be. She would eliminate her target with this one, overwhelming blow!

Opening her grimly set mouth, Anya spoke one word, her voice devoid of the tired disinterest it had held before, bearing now only manifest malice and a desire to kill. Then, she stabbed straight ahead with her now brilliantly glowing Solar Blade, leveling a blow beneath Anne's upraised arms that would rip apart all of her vitals in a single thrust.

"Amaterasu."

A flash of silvery light filled the arena, drowning out even the light of the sun floating at its center. Then, there was a tremendous roar, and the two airborne silhouettes were joined by a massive, wing-like blade running between them...

Rhode replied. “Heh, well it’s my job to intimidate everyone,” he said in almost a bored and normal manner, as if he said it a hundred times a day. He had a point there. What would be the point of the guard if it weren't made up of some powerful sword wielders who could defend and defeat almost everyone in the academy? Which only made Lance wonder what they would do if someone like Anya took a turn in the wrong direction...

“Careful not to get too caught up in these VR battles though. Sparring to improve your skill is fine but the real enemy is out there, and they are far from human.” were Rhode's final words to Lance as he grinned and walked away. Another good point. He'd most definately follow on that advice....

In the meantime, he turned back to the fight which seemed to be ending. Anya had leaped, as predicted by just about everyone. There really wasn't another option. But there was Anne again, showing off her incredible agility as she managed to turn around lightning fast, carrying a lot of her momentum with her. Lance knew that this was probably Anne's last stand. But it was still quite an effective one. But Anya knew how to effectively counter, catching Anne's lance and dealing a final killing blow towards Anne. One word was spoken by Anya before the arena flashed white, nearly blinding just about everyone in the spectator stand. Was it over? Lance turned back to the arena, waiting for it to dim down. Had Anya won? It seemed like so...

Anne was stuck in the eye, which caused her to shut them close. "That hurt." She thought to herself. As her spinning was nearing stopping, she knew she had no energy left to continue. She knew this would end badly for her, but she found hope in the fact that she had faught her hardest, and even for the weakling of the Patra clan, she had put up a good fight.

She heard Anya say something, although she was not entirely sure what, although she knew it it was filled with killing entent. She opened her eyes, and saw Anya thrust her blade at her. She didn't have the engry to completely dodge the attack, but she did have enought to move her spear over. The motion of the spear was able to deflect her blade to the right and downward so that the attack wouldn't be a complete kill shot.

She felt the blade peirce her side right below her rib cage. She knew the area that she had deflect it to didn't contain any vital organs, save for her kidney, but she always had a second one, "Lucky me." She thought to herself. The blade had gone completely threw her, and as she fell, she began to pass out. "Not yet." She thought to herself as she hit the ground. She landed on her feet, but was unable to continue to stand and fell backwards. She fell, landed completely flat, as she knew she was defeated.

"Not that it means anything," She said, and then caughed up blood, "But that was the best fight I have ever had." She paused, and felt her that she was slipping away, but she had something to say. "I fought with the honor of Claire Patra, but your skill was too great. Congratulations." She smiled a bit, and then fell backwards, having passed out from fighting and blood loss.

As the whiteness cleared out, Lance could see both Anne and Anya standing. His first opinion was that nothing happened, that the attack was a complete miss and the fight would go on.

But no. Finally, Anne fell backwards and she didn't even try to stop her as she hit the ground below her. She was tired from blood loss and overall fighting. It was over. Anne said a few last words before slipping into unconciousness. There was a moment of silence, then the Hawks section went wild. People jumped out of their seat, clapping and cheering for the victor, which was the prodigy, Anya Roscoe.

And what he was thinking was what was repeated over the announcement board. "Victor: Anne Roscoe. 29 crowns for Hawk house!" And anyone who was in the Hawks section that night had witnessed a good fight. A one-sided fight, but a good fight, nonetheless...

But Lance still didn't understand why this fight was so rowdy. It was still early in the year and there were going to be plenty of fights better than this one. Rhode was right. People got too caught up in these VR Battles. And it was only going to be a matter of time before the Shari emerged once more and people will be expecting to walk out of this fight alive in the end and completely okay.

The arena changed once more from the raging lava inferno back to the grayscale dome and dull, white, tile floor that was the off mode of the simulator. People were leaving the Spectator section to cheer and congratulate Anya for her victory. Lance could only smile for the fact that both did her best. In his opinion, it was Anya's fight from the beginning. Not to mention the fact that she was a prodigy, she was in her third year (technically, her second) at the Academy while Anne had the experience that only one month can bring a person. But, for some reason, he still erxpected the fight to be a close one. Why? Possibly it was because Anne was a Patra and, somewhat, a prodigy as well. Maybe it was fueled by Lance's upset victory over Bruno this afternoon that made him believe that all battles could be won by both sides, even from the weakest versus the strong. Or maybe Lance liked rooting for the underdogs...whatever. He wouldn't focus on that too much.

He turned to the clock. 6:45, it read. Fifteen minutes? he thought. Me and Anya could still spar. Maybe a little later, giving time for Anya to rest up from the burden of two fights in one day, but it still could be done in the time between dinner and curfew...

Giving one last glance at the blood, sweat, and tears that came with the Champion's Arena, he left the spectator stand to congratulate both competitors on a job well done...

Anya was treated to the refreshing feeling of her blade reaching its simulated target, but despite that, something was strange about it. It seemed that, to the very end, Anne refused to be constrained by the rules of conventional battle, for despite Anya's arm pinning her spear, she had somehow managed to raise the shaft of the weapon enough to divert the final attack. The blade of Amaterasu's Type-TRUE form was large enough that the wound would doubtless be fatal simply from simulated blood loss, no matter where on her torso the blade struck, but still, it was frustrated to realize that even in her finishing move, she'd been denied an instant kill. Hissing with disappointment, Anya instead twisted the sword, wrenching it through Anne's gut before ripping it out of her side, essentially halfway bisecting her as she disengaged, pulling the spear out of her own side as she completed her flip and landed across the island from her target, bracing herself against the sword to stabilize her side, which now felt as though a heavy weight had been placed upon it thanks to the simulation system. Then, slowly, she drew forth the giant blade of the sword yet again, and, with the last of her strength, prepared to launch herself at the target who had landed standing across from her.

But, at that moment, Anne Patra collapsed, falling backwards and into the charred and burning dirt, and, with a few words, conceded defeat. Then, there was nothing more to do. She had eliminated her opponent, and yet... she had refused to die, until the very last. Anya's duels had always ended in a definite kill, so why was it that this girl had merely forfeit? It was an insult. A blemish upon her record. A moment of weakness in which she had failed to decisively win a battle which should have been a pushover. Thus, even as the simulation collapsed and her weapon dissapated as she found herself once more able to surely stand, she merely grimaced with discontent, and, passing by her fallen adversary, gave a simple nod before she exited, hoping to slip away from the crowds before they could accost her about her triumph.

No such luck, it seemed. As she exited the arena, her coat swishing across the cold tile floor as she passed over it, she was stopped in her tracks at once by none other than Lance, the second dual blades user. Well, she supposed, at least he probably wouldn't be as much of an issue to deal with as the other Hawks, who, elated with their victory, would doubtless begin to pressure her into joining them in some stupid revel. They didn't have any interest in her besides her usefulness as a weapon, so what was even the point of such trivial and meaningless platitudes?

"Oh. It's you," She said bluntly, her gaze looking rather colder than usual, which was saying something, to be sure. "I suppose you were hoping your friend would win. Sorry to disappoint you after leading you along so dutifully. It seems I'm not feeling well today. Otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten your hopes up." Her voice was yet again completely deadpan, yet her words might have sounded boastful, given the tone of one who actually meant it. Talking with the young "prodigy" was certainly confusing, as her words carried a meaning she did not necessarily intend.

Lance had suddenly was face to face with none other than Anya, who had made her way out of the arena first. Lance gave an encouraging smile. "Good fight," he said.

"Oh. It's you," she said, coldly. What was she so irritated about? She had won the fight, right? So why wasn't she celebrating her victory? Well, he knew the answer to that one...Anya's personality would probably lead a person to conclude that she doesn't really "celebrate" anything. So probably a better way to put that question would be "Why wasn't she content with her win?"

"I suppose you were hoping your friend would win. Sorry to disappoint you after leading you along so dutifully. It seems I'm not feeling well today. Otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten your hopes up," she continued. Lance didn't know how to answer that. He was somewhat torn between Anne and Anya on that fight and pretty much remained neutral. He clapped to at least show his appreciation for both, but for once, he really couldn't pick a favorite in that fight. Granted, he liked Anne more, but only because he knew her better. He predicted fights through the way the fighters fought like, not based on friendship. He just didn't know enough about Anne's fighting style to make a fair judgement.

"I judge fights through talent, not friendship. Therefore, I was probably the only neutral one in the Spectator Stand. And it was a good thing too. A giant fight broke out between Eagles and Hawks that nearly wiped the entire Crown Count for both houses and I'm glad I wasn't a part of that. So anyway, I understand that you've just done two fights now in one day. So I can completely understand if you want to take the night to rest and we can re-schedule the spar tomorrow." Lance returned to that smile once again as he stood there, waiting for Anya's reply.

Anya raised an eyebrow, and sighed slightly as Lance informed her of the idiotic actions of her housemates.

"I... see," She said at last, disgust and regret evident in her voice. "While I don't particularly care about crown counts and such, such pointless bickering makes getting into spars rather problematic, should such fights ensue every time I step into the ring. What a pain. All I wanted was to end the duel quickly and decisively, yet that girl insisted on surpassing the system limits in order to drag things out. And now this... Hawk and Eagle houses will probably be suspended from entering the arena in official matches for a time if this is the case. What a pain..." She repeated, sighing again as she thought over the probable outcome. Arena right suspension meant no more actual all-out fights, which in turn meant she wouldn't have a chance to rise in the ranks and expand her own strength. That was her one goal, and yet... why was it that things always had to get in her way?

"I won't force you to reschedule the bout for my sake. I should be able to fight you... even in this state, I can't be called strong if I'm worn out by a mere..." She stopped, as though trying to regain her breath, and tried to continue, but her voice was faint and weak. "Two... battles..." She concluded. Anya barely managed to get the last words of her sentence out before a wave of fatigue overcame her, and, eyes widening in surprise, she felt her balance slipping away. Stumbling forward, she was suddenly unable to effectively control her feet, as though she was wading through some sort of invisible mire that undid all of her careful attempts to stabilize herself. Her knees were giving way, she was falling forward!

But... why? Surely, she hadn't so fully exhausted herself in a mere two engagements to be unable to stand? Physically, she was tired to be sure, but...

It was then that she realized the truth. In both of her battles, she had used a phenomenal number of Type-False blades, breaking them and replacing them as was necessary. She had gone through a total of 14 blades in her battle with Faustus la Croix, and had created another six in her duel with Anne. On top of that incredible exertion, she had formed a Type-TRUE Amaterasu in both of her duels. Usually, forming two Type-TRUE weapons was enough to completely exhaust her, let alone after having created a total of 20 blades beforehand! In fact, the only incredible thing was that she had managed to stay standing and thinking coherently for this long when she had already spent almost all of her heart's strength on forming blades.

When making a weapon, there were two factors to keep in mind. First, there was the divine energy one must harness. That was the source of the blade's cutting power, and channeling just one god's energy through a mortal body was usually enough to drain a fairly sizable chunk of their strength. But Anya, on the other hand, had to do more than double the work. With two gods embodying her at once, their power had a tendency to conflict and clash before she gave it form, sapping a great deal of her strength with each set of blades she made. But, on top of this, there was also the second factor one had to keep in mind: the strength of one's own heart, required to give the weapon form. In Anya's case, her blades were given form the fragments of her heart known as "determination to grow in power," "hatred," and "desire for revenge." The blades she wielded were embodiments of her heart's vengeful rage as it lusted for the blood of her family's killers, and thus, with each blade, she lost some of the emotion that drove her, weakening both her heart and her body until she no longer had the strength to animate her own movements. Normally, a simple rest would be sufficient to overcome her fatigue by the next day, but she had gone so far beyond her limits in her two duels that it was doubtful now that she'd be able to even make it out of the main building before she collapsed, unconscious, for an undefined period of time as her heart and body tried to recover from the loss of their animating force. Any further exertion, and she would probably be out for a day, if not longer.

And that didn't even take into consideration the fact that she might crack her skull open on the floor as she fell.

Damn it... What... a... blunder...

While Lance wondered about how she was able to pull off two fights, Anya had responded.

"I...see. While I don't particularly care about crown counts and such, such pointless bickering makes getting into spars rather problematic, should such fights ensue every time I step into the ring. What a pain. All I wanted was to end the duel quickly and decisively, yet that girl insisted on surpassing the system limits in order to drag things out. And now this... Hawk and Eagle houses will probably be suspended from entering the arena in official matches for a time if this is the case. What a pain..." Lance sighed with her. He knew how frustrated this made her. Everyone should know tomorrow what is the punishment as the result of the fight. Even though the big brawl was ended rather quickly with a threatening announcement, things like that don't go unpunished in this Academy. They can't afford to "let it slide". Most likely, Hawks and Eagle house members will be banned from watching the fights for a set period of time, like Anya was predicting. This dealt a blow to her because if Lance understood prodigys correctly, they also liked to learn off of other people. And if she gets banned from viewing fights...well, there won't be a happy Anya rolling around Stella Luna Academy for a little while.

"I won't force you to reschedule the bout for my sake. I should be able to fight you... even in this state, I can't be called strong if I'm worn out by a mere..." Anya stopped, as if fighting something inside of her. "Two...battles..." She was able to complete her sentence, but barely. She was blinking, as if struggling to stay awake. And then she began to collapse, her eyes fluttering shut, her body folding in on itself as if a switch was thrown and she was shut down.

Lance managedd to catch her before her head hit the ground. She had blacked out from fatigue. There was no question about it. Two fights were possbly standable, even from a first year like himself, more so for a prodigy, like Anya. But two TOUGH battles...now that was something even the greatest of the great fell under. She wanted perfection and she just about got it...at a price. She had manifested her weapon not once...not twice...but three times. Three times...not to mention how ever many times she manifested her blades in her fight against Faustus. She never stood a chance to hold out forever...

Lance picked her up, surprised as how light she was. It was wierd to think that someone so fierce, someone so competitive, would not weigh that much. Oh, how looks can be deceiving...

He walked out of the arena, towards the Hawk house. He knew that each house had a private medical room reserved for their house members only, but at this point, he didn't care. The sun was a ball of orange over the lake, the sky a deep lavender. Night would be coming soon...oh the thought of night made him smile a little bit.

He walked straight through the front doors of Hawk house, as if he belonged there. The infirmary was the second door on the right and he entered immediately. The head nurse sitting there turned in his direction, then stood up from her desk, a look of concern on her face. "What seems to be the problem?" she asked.

"She took a part in two tough fights today and finally collapsed from the exhaustion. I don't know when she's going to come around..." Lance trailed off as he handed over the sleeping Anya to the nurse. The nurse put on a stethoscope, measuring her heart rate, then set her down on one of those bed and turned back to Lance. "She'll be fine," the nurse reassured,"She just needs a LOT of rest. Who is this girl again?"

"Anya Roscoe," Lance stated clearly.

"The prodigy?" the nurse questioned, a hint of surprise in her voice,"I didn't think anything could bring her down to collapsing."

"Well, she's only second year and she fought Faustus la Croix and Anne Patra..." Lance shrugged,"It can happen to anyone if they try hard enough."

The nurse smiled. "That's true. And what's your name?"

"Lance Walsh," he replied.

"Well, Lance. Thank you for bringing her to me. I'll let you know when she wakes up."

"Thank you." With a slight nod, he left the infirmary and walked out of the Hawk house. By now, people were heading back to their dorms for dinner, homework, and entertainment. A few of the early birds gave second glances back at Lance as he walked away from their dorm, but they luckily didn't pester him.

He walked back to the entrance of the arena and waited for Anne to come out so that he could congratulate her.

Anne had picked herself up off of the ground when the fight had concluded. She knew she had lost, but some part of her wasn't as angry as she should have been. It had been a long shot trying to beat Anya, and she knew that. Maybe it was the fact that she had a good fight, her best infact.

Either way, she picked herself up somewhat happily. She didn't really want to face anyone at the moment, she might not be angry aabout losing, but being sad is natural about it still happened. She made her way, spear on back, over to to the arena enterance. She waited there for Anya, or even Lance, but after a while she didn't see either of them.

She walked over, getting both praises and insults from her own team, "Geez, there will be other fights you guys." She thought to herself. Before she knew it, she was over near the Hawks medical tent. She didn't go in, because she wasn't a Hawk, so she started her way again.

Once at the arena front again, she saw Lance. Dispite losng, she still wanted to hang out with him. "Hey," She said making her way over to him. "You saw the whole fight, right? How badly was my ass kicked?" She asked him jokingly, before putting her hands over her head. Her stomach growled, "Sorry about that, want to get some food?" She didn't really care where Anya was, she was a big girl and could and would likely kill anyone that tried to attack her.

Lance spotted Anne heading over to him from the medical tent. He waved before she reached him. "Hey. You saw the whole fight, right? How badly was my ass kicked?"

Lance laughed. "I did and you weren't as badly kicked as some other people, I heard. Especially for a first year, you fought better than Faustus la Croix, her first fight today, did. And he's a fourth year!" he replied, trying to lift her spirits. But, deep down, they knew that Anya was going to win from the beginning...

He heard a small growling sound and Anne immediately responded. "Sorry about that, want to get some food?" she asked. Lance laughed again. "Sure why not? How about you and I get cleaned up and we'll meet up in the mess hall in ten? No offense, but you've got a little paint riiiight..." he gestured to her entire face,"...there." he began laughing at his joke before heading off in the boy's Eagle dorm, then stopped and called back. "Oh, and if it means anything, you managed to make Anya faint from exhaustion, so you could count that as a mutual kill..." He ran into his awesome bedroom to get cleaned up himself...

((OOC: Sorryu, SMinSC, but I'm going to move on. I've been waiting for too long. I dk if you lost interest or got too busy, but I'm going to try and bring this back...))

Lance looked off in Anne's direction, then shrugged. He didn't hear any response from her, so he'd just take it as a no, she didn't want to. She did lose, after all.

Walking to the boys Dorm, he spotted Raymond, talking to a couple of girls. Well, rather flirting with them. He said something and they giggled in response. Lance walked over to them, then decided against it, walking to the corner of a building and waiting for them to walk off before entering. Meanwhile, he thought of Anne. They had just became friends, but something in him wanted more than just friends. How wierd.

They talked for about five more minutes before the girls walked off, giggling to themselves. Lance walked towards him quietly, trying to scare him, but Raymond spotted him before he could reach him. "Dude, seriously, you're going to try that?" Raymond grinned.

"Yeah, I was," Lance replied, honestly and nonchalantly. Raymond laughed in response. "So who were they?" Lance asked.

"Oh...um...well, they're my dates on Friday..." Ray answered, his race beginning to turn red under the lavender sky. Now, it was Lance's turn to laugh.

"A date, dude! That's awesome!" Lance replied. Ray just smiled meekly. "We should celebrate with Resident Evil 6!" he cried. Ray nodded in agreement before heading to their room to enjoy themselves for the night.

((OOC: Okay, I'm done for the night. Someone else can start us off on tomorrow, if they wish.))