Captain Princel's Request

[lana]

((Onyx and Lana, but I guess if someone else wants in, send a PM first?))


Lana so did not just march herself up to the great doors of Fira Tower to hear this.

"Sorry, but you have no business with--" one of the doormen started to say.

"I'm one of the Nerezza captains, dammit! I request an audience with the king of Ignis himself - Volkanon!" Lana snapped. She was used to being angry, used to her mood changing randomly and rapidly as it did, but lately it was more frequent than usual. It was effing Rous' fault, though.

She saw someone out of the corner of her eye reaching out to grab at her arm, probably to try to "calm her down" or "escort her away", well she wasn't going to go away, dammit - she wheeled herself around and kicked the hand away as hard as she could. She so was not in the mood for this bs.

[Onyx, Son of Sun]

Onyx was just returning from his session with Dagger in the Burning Forest to come upon a red-haired woman verbally assaulting his guards. Wanting to hastily return to his chamber and ponder, he thought it would be best to deal with this event personally and then quickly retire to his room.

As he approached to deal with the apparently enraged bystander, whom seem to be screaming and rather ill tempered, he thought it would be best to try and calm her down before talking. As he placed a hand on her shoulder, she wheeled around, throwing a kick towards Onyx. Having his hand knocked across his body, he turned with the force of the blow while ducking low and performed a sweeping kick to the woman's only grounded leg. Upon her landing harshly on the ground, he seized the wrist of her arm and pressed her elbow against the outer edge of his closest knee, effectively locking her joint.

"State you business in Ignis. It had better be important or you shall be prosecuted for disturbing the peace," Onyx commanded having no knowledge of who he was talking to.

[lana]

"Oh, son of a bi--AH!"

Lana bit her lip after she was knocked to the ground and put in the lock. 'Great. Just great...'

Had it been anyone else except Onyx, Lana would have fought to squirm her way out of his hold but recalling her recent record of how many people she'd manage to piss off, she didn't think it wise to try anything like that at the moment as she really did not want Onyx added to that list.


"Lord Volkanon," she finally spoke, much calmer than she had been previously, though the anger in her voice still remained, "I am Captain Lana Princel of Nerezza, I was hoping to ask you for your...assistance, I suppose."

[Onyx, Son of Sun]

The woman's appearance and disposition fit what people had described it as, and that was enough for Onyx to release her from the lock and assist her to her feet. Onyx, finding most of the Sumata to be unpleasant company, usually distanced himself from most of them along with their Captains, which made most of his allies unknown to him in person. The only Sumata members that he really had any respect for was Seigmand and, well... Seigmand was about it really.

Upon assisting Lana to her feet, he spoke in a much softer tone in relation to his previously barked command. "Forgive me for the uncouth treatment, but you were getting too agitated for your own good. Now please, what can I do for you today, Milady Princel?" he inquired with a small and regal bow.

[lana]

After being helped to her feet, Lana gave Onyx a respectful bow in return to the one she had received from him.
Actually, why did he bow to her, anyway? None of the royals ever did anything like that, they were all stuck-up jerks.

She stood tall and folded her arms. She wasn't rude, yet her face was anything but pleasant as was her tone as she answered, "I hear from many sources that you are quite the fearful martial arts user. As it turns out, my former captain trained me a little with his fists and feet in the 'fine' art of 'if you don't understand how to fight me back after I've thrown you across the room, I'm going to kill you'. And as that turned out, he did try to kill me...and I couldn't do anything but fall back on my fellow captain, Captain Gamblington, for help."

Really, that hurt to say. Lana hated feeling like she needed help.

"I'm disappointed in myself for letting this happen; I wear the title of 'Captain' but cannot hold my own as I properly should. I went to Gamblington as a colleague, a friend, but a fool as well," there was a hint of shame added to her voice as she forced out the last of her words, "and so it is a bit of an odd thing, being that we are from entirely different kingdoms, but I'd like to come not as 'Captain Princel' but as an open individual and ask for your guidance - your teaching - so that I will not have to look at the girl in the mirror and disgustedly tell her that she's not worthy of the respect that a Nerezzan captain receives."

She was calm, and she in some way was proud of herself for coming out and saying what she had to say.
However, it was Lana, and knowing Lana all it would take in a moment like this was for someone to so much as snicker and she'd snap.

[Onyx, Son of Sun]

Onyx could sense each emotion that she evoked within herself as she spoke. The shame and disappointment that she felt for her failure, but along with the he sensed confidence, relief, and a strong spirit. These were all things that Onyx did not expect from Lana based on her description and what he had just seen, but were welcome traits that sat well with him and gave Lana a higher spot in his mind then where she previously sat. The only thing that sat uneasily with Onyx was her reason for wanting to learn the Arts from him. She packaged it nicely, but it could easily be interpreted as her needing it for either self-defense or revenge. Onyx needed to test something about her so as to gain a true and proper perspective.

"It is odd for a woman to be interested in fighting and it makes this request even more unheard of, but that is of little consequence. A warrior has no specific shape and is not subject to the petty ideals of societal conformity. No, what I need to test is the true you. Any person can shape themselves to seem like a worthy candidate, but I shall see you for who you really are and make my judgement based upon that. Come. We shall spar and see your true colors."

Turning around, Onyx walked a moderate distance from the entrance to Fira Tower and waited for Lana to join him.

"Fear not, Milady Lana, for this is but a simple exercise and you shall endure no harm. Though I shall expect you to try and strike me as you would any other opponent, so come forth and draw you weapon."

[lana]

Lana remained silent as Onyx explained to her what it was he expected of her, and she watched for an awkward moment as he stepped away from the tower.
She wasn't entirely sure she could have trusted him. He said she'd endure no harm, but what did that mean? Anyone could have said that and been fooling her - Rous told her she'd be fine and then the lying bastard broke her arm, and that was on more than one occasion.

Well, whatever. If she backed out of this now then she'd be labelled a coward or worse. Straightening herself a bit, Lana quietly and calmly followed behind Onyx. Slowly drawing her longsword, she gave him a small nod and simply said, "Alright."

[Onyx, Son of Sun]

"You hesitation is well placed, but as I mentioned before, no harm shall come to you. This is a simple exercise and shall thus be nothing more than a learning session for us both. The only difference is what we each of us shall seek to learn from this encounter. But enough, discard your hesitation and strike!"

Sinking low into his usual back-stance, Ignis awaited to see Lana's opening move, hoping that she would prove herself a worthy pupil in this sparring session.

[lana]

Lana took another moment to study the man, somewhere hoping (or at least knowing that if she had any chance of being successful) she'd be fast enough to react appropriately depending on how he moved.

But delaying would do no good - if this were a real battle she probably would have been dead after wasting so much valuable time. She gripped her sword tighter and then immediately ran out towards Onyx, swinging upward and trying to pay attention to how he'd respond.

[Onyx, Son of Sun]

An upwards slash? A surprising move, but rather amateurish. I guess I shall have to explain her folly. Rushing inwards himself after determining the attack direction, Onyx did a light knife-hand strike to Lana's wrists before she could get the sword above her waist, stopping the rest of her swing.

"Such strikes are powered by your shoulders and the rotation of your hips. All I have to do is intercept your power at a point close to your body and, no matter how great your strength, I shall stop it with ease. This is the first means of defense in the martial arts: interception. In this instance, I have your chest completely open for attack."

Jumping back after his quick lesson, Onyx once again lowered into his stance and beckoned to Lana, "Try again, but with subtlety rather than strength."

[lana]

It was surprising, barely being able to lift her arm and then suddenly stopped like that. It was something Lana wasn't used to, most of her opponents merely slashed back at her.

Onyx jumped back and Lana remained still, staring at the man and trying to think of another approach. Subtlety? Lana never did too many things like that for a couple of reasons. One, she couldn't always keep her cool long enough to be subtle, two, some dummy with her always managed to screw things up if she hadn't already, and three, she just wasn't good at keeping things subtle.

She gave her sword a bit of a twirl and bit at the corner of her lip. Then, she lunged forward again and took another swing - from the side, trying to present it as her powerful attack, and following shortly after the blade came her leg which she was actually meaning to do damage with while some poor sucker blocked the blade.

Of course, doing something like that in the past usually meant after she attacked she'd end up taking a rolling fall - she was a tall lady and her balance was great, but it wasn't that good.

[Onyx, Son of Sun]

A two layer attack, much better. She has the ability to be ingenuitive, but her technique seems a little sloppy, probably because she she has never been properly taught.

Waiting until the blade was as close as it could safely be, Onyx stepped forward, sinking low and, using his gauntlets, blocked the blade upwards as he slid his defending hand inwards and seized Lana wrist. His other hand then reached towards her kicking leg and connected softly just above her knee, causing the her knee to jam and prevent the kick from continuing. Shifting forward and spreading his legs apart, Onyx's front leg was now positioned in front of Lana grounded leg, forcing her slightly off balance and causing all the energy of her movement to push her forward. Finally, Onyx pivoted on his foot closest to Lana and pulled her arm forward, and with the combination of twisting and forward motion, Lana flipped over and landed rear-end first on the ground.

"Forgive me for the harsh treatment," Onyx stated as he offered a hand to help Lana up.

"That was much better. Your technique is strong, but lacks finesse. Because of this, you are easy to read as you broadcast you moves. This is what allowed me to defend and counter with a combination of interception and redirection. To redirect is to simply offset you opponents attack slightly and then later use the energy from their attack to maneuver their body to fit your needs. That aside, I would ask one thing of you for this next strike. Rather than a single strike, attempt to lure me with feints, and then strike true when you see an opening.

This time, Onyx took no stance and merely waited for Lana to strike.

[lana]

Lana mentally cursed this time as she hit the ground, but kept in mind what Onyx said as he assisted her back to her feet. At this time, the fact that Onyx simply stood there and waited for her to attack him almost seemed to make her uncomfortable.

She'd attacked many people who definitely weren't expecting it, but this was a little different. Maybe it was because he was expecting it but looked as though he wasn't.

As instructed, Lana came at Onyx once again and with her sword she ended up doing more half-swings on either side of Onyx and waited for an opportune time for her to send a real one.
However, when she would go to throw a real swing with her sword she'd 'chicken out'. Again, it was probably because he hadn't looked like he was expecting it. And in all honesty Lana never could bring herself to take a blade to a person who took the role of something equal to that of a normal civilian. The only time she ever did something like that was when Ludro or her queen were around and that was all for image.

Her last swing, which was to be her real one, quickly turned into another quick kick from the woman's long legs.

[Onyx, Son of Sun]

Lana swings were odd and unorthodox, but not in a good way. Every instance he could tell that Lana was going to make her strike, her body almost spasmed and her blade once again failed to swing true. This was troublesome, as it showed either fear, hesitation, or a sense of mercy, all of which would be her downfall in a true match.

The half-swings from her blade were decent, or at least the intentional ones anyway, but she was neither fast enough or technical enough to conceal her true strike.

A kick? If this is indeed her best then I am quite disappointed. The point of carrying a bladed weapon is to kill with it, and you don't kill with it by not using it.

Ducking Lana's kick, he sweeps her off her grounded leg with a reverse sweep kick. Taking the moment that she hung in the air, he twisted his body and positioned himself in front of sword arm and serruptitiously removed her sword from her grasp and stabbed it inches away from her head as she, once again, landed on the ground.

"Had you been in a real battle, you hesitation and lack of technique would have lead to your death. Your style is too impetuous. It lacks substance and grace, the makings of subtlety. Your emotions drive your blade rather than skill, and this is what shall be your downfall. But take solace in this moment rather than shame, embrace the humility you feel, as it will be your new strength, and you shall eventually come to conquer your emotions and learn the power of lucidity. Come! I shall train you, but be warned, this will not be pleasant, it will not be easy and should you show hesitation for my methods as you have in this battle, then you shall fail to achieve what it is you seek, understood?"

Onyx offered his hand out to Lana as a symbolic representation of his offer.

"The choice is yours to make, Milady Princel."

[lana]

Her fighting style lacked substance and grace? She used emotions to fight?

Suddenly the words Xisa had told her long ago rang through her head once more, about how she couldn't kill anyone, how he implied that a real warrior was very much like him - an emotionless fool.

It pissed her off. She lay on the ground and stared up at Onyx, just barely feeling her own blade by her head. How she wondered it would have felt for it to have been stabbed through her head and to be rid of this miserable thing called life.
But then she thought, yet again, of Kouichi. Instantly memories of her and Kouichi's meeting in Unda flooded back to her, her leaving her uncle's home and Kouichi keeping her from doing something crazy. She'd hurt herself a lot then and even scared him.

Yet that young man, one of the heroes no less, had said something interesting to her that night. He'd said she should find the reason why she was fighting. Until this day she still hadn't found the answer to why she fought so much with the world, with herself, and as a Sumata member against the civil world.

And somehow, the thought of Kouichi seemed to take control over her as she reached out to Onyx and took his hand. She wasn't scared of training - real training - that was hard and painful, she'd lived too long under the cruel thumb of someone like Rous to care very little about pain at all.
It seemed funny, but in some stupid way, it almost seemed like she was doing this not just for herself, but for Kouichi as he stuck in her mind.

"Alright. Let's do this thing, then. I'm not scared, I'll listen and obey whatever you have to say or show me," she answered Onyx quietly and sincerely.