Practicing with the Real Deal

Critical

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Jacob was not getting anywhere with his sword training. At least not while he was not holding his own, real sword.

A long time had passed between his accidental discovery of his sword skills and when he formally started to try and hone them in any way. In the meantime, he had either never used them due to a lack of a reason to ever use a sword in his everyday life, or made sudden extensive use of them when he was in an extremely dangerous situation. (Dangerous situations being an actual occurrence occasionally on Manta Carlos, or when he dove into Lenn's dark past.) During those moments, he never had to think about what he was doing, and he was well aware of that fact. His skills seemingly came from nowhere, without thought or practice. An incredible feat considering the extreme skills he displayed.

But now, Jacob sought to try and understand his sword skills. Even if he could not find out where they came from, he could at least understand what he was capable of on a conscious level. Part of the desire stemmed from watching his daughter Chiru demonstrate her own expertise during her visit to the island and the school. When he watched her wield a bow and arrow with such skill, using the same focusing methods he used, he knew that it was something from within and not just spontaneous. He needed to know, for her sake.

The problem he was running into, however, was that practicing with a training sword or anything else other than his own sword just was not working. Even before he tried that, he just knew that trying to practice weaponless was a futile act. He would breathe deeply and calm himself like he always would, but the "Zone" would not come. When he picked up a wooden sword and tried to take his stance, his body seemed to forget everything. He was wobbly and unbalanced and incapable of anything.

With his real sword in hand, just as he was on the field that day, it all happened instantly. A single deep breath with his sword in hand, sheathed or not, and the world slowed to a crawl and almost all sound dropped away. A relaxed swing of his sheathed sword sent out a buffeting wave of wind across the field like it was nothing.

"... Guess I have just do the real thing..."

Jacob took his stance and began a slow mock duel with his sword, attempting to study his own body and movements as he did so without breaking out of the "Zone". "Slow" was a relative term though. To himself he was moving at a substantially reduced speed. To others, he was like a swift wind up and down the field. But at least he was visible. At full speed, he would have been barely a blur.
 

Hyper

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[ Reni'xia Kai-szer ]

It had been months since Nix had arrived into the island and she'd already found herself slowly adjusting to the customs and peace of the city. Eryndlyn was nowhere near this calm, sometimes it scared her that anything could jump at her at any moment.

But she had nothing to fear; she was skilled enough to defend herself. That was, unless she was up against stronger magic. That was something to be worried about. But so long as there was no other mage at her kind's level, she was perfectly safe. And she was constantly training often; nothing could possibly stand in her way.

As she reach her training area, she realized she wasn't alone. A stranger had already taken the location for himself. Normally, Nix would have left immediately but she decided today was a good day and she could sit down for some entertainment. She stood there for a moment, simply watching his movements.

A grin slowly made its way into her features. She hasn't trained with anyone for a long while now, Nix thought to herself, quietly stalking towards her target.

And oh, did she want to have an entrance.

Her hand found the grip one of her blades concealed under her coat. Nix didn't wait for any longer, and made a quick dash towards him, the blade drawn out.

Judging from his movements, surely he could at least parry this one.
 

Critical

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The open sports fields had a persistent wind swirling gently in and around it as Jacob zipped about and swung his sheathed sword. The remaining few leaves on the trees rustled and fell as he passed, and the loose leaves on the ground followed his movements like lost birds. All the while Jacob was mentally taking notes of what his body was doing, or what he was feeling. He noted the ways his feet moved for speed and the way his fingers gripped his sword in each swing.

He noted how he had already developed his own little style of swordsmanship without even thinking about it. In his first, and most used, "stance" Jacob kept his blade in the sheathe. In a hope to remain as nonlethal as he could, he used the hardened sheathe as a blunt weapon held in a reverse grip. He appreciated the custom hand guard the blacksmith had built into the sheathe to protect his fingers, and possibly be used as metal knuckles.

Said guard found unexpected use during practice. Jacob felt his instincts detect something: an approach. Mid-dash, Jacob spun to face his attacker and deflect the attack. As he slid backwards to a stop, his mind was able to catch up and assess the situation.

"Oh. Oh! Sorry! I didn't see you there. You okay?"
 

Hyper

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He did better than expected, Nix thought to herself, hopping backwards just a little to keep her stance. Her blade remained in front of her, its blade pointed at the man before her. "That parry said otherwise, sir," Nix said in response.

Even when she had addressed him that way, it took a few more moments before she found his appearance any familiar. She recognized him as part of the staff--though not anyone she would actually pay attention to.

A smirk managed its way to her features before she spoke again. Nix set her weapon to the side when she straightened up from her stance. She raised her head up as she spoke, "I'm quite better than 'okay'; that was nothing but a light tap to me. Though I do apologize: did I interrupt your practice?"
 

Critical

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"Y-Yeah. That parry kinda came out of nowhere though. Believe me."

Jacob felt awkward being complimented for his sword skills. The kind words felt unearned, even if they did sound genuine. Part of him wanted to feel a little pride in impressing Nix, whom seemed far more adept at blades with the help of training. But another part of him felt like he was also deceiving Nix with his mysterious and unclear abilities that still put him on par, if not above, Nix.

His stance, once assured and confident, melted into a normal standing position as he quickly lost the Zone while talking with Nix. The swordsman that had effortlessly countered Nix was no more, for now, and was replaced by the math teacher that was Jacob.

"No. Actually, maybe? I dunno. The practice was good, but having someone give me an actual attack to react against is better than shadow swording."

Jacob held his hand out to her while his eyes drifted to her sword.

"I'm Jacob, by the way. Um, do you have training with that? Cause I might have a few questions."
 
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