Lesson 101: Alexis and drago

Alexander was bored and slightly intoxicated and restless after leaving zekes lovely home and so to shake himself awake and to sober up he decided to enter the artilary room, a place where he felt quite at home.
the weapons as always were in their rightful place although there was a sign of small skermishes as was to be expected.
he ran his hand along the row of weapons, casually stopping at every type of sword and smiling, but tonight he decided to try something different.

he continued along the rack till he found the staves and picked up and weighed each one. twirling and balancing each carefully to he found one he was happy with.
he walked to the centre of the room and began slowly warming up with the stave. although it lacked the cut and ease of a sword it wasnt half bad he thought to himself.

Alexander started to practice till through a set routine he had learnt from a 'family member' he messed up and hit himself several times. so stopped and knelt and meditated on what he had done wrong.

Alexis was restless, every so often she just wanted to give into her fighting nature.
The vampire's katana was slung over her shoulder, the blade was slender and light whilst still remaining incredibly strong.

She entered the artillery room and unsheathed the blade, a high pitched ringing broke the silence in the room.

Alexis looked up, surprised to see another in the room, the hair was an instant give away.

"Oh hello Alex, sorry I didn't know anyone else was in here."

Alexander smelt the scent of well made steel and the scent of the vampire before she had even drawn her blade, as the ringing ehcoed throughout the room Alexander looked up and smiled. "hello Alexis, come to train?" he asked calmly.

Alexander stood and bowed to the vampire with a small smile, it was always a pleasure to see her.
after he bowed he rested on the stave and waited for her reply. his meditation had almost finished anyway.
"please do not apologise, it was getting lonely here anyway" he joked.

"Yes I suppose so, really I think I just wanted to work out some pent up emotion."

Letting that hunter live had been difficult, she had wanted to gut that lycan and paint the town with his giblets, but she had let him live.

Alexis bowed her head in return, she counted Alex as a companion, he had earned her respect.

"Do you know your way around a blade?"
She asked, the light glinting off of hers.

"pent up emotion?" he asked "hmm well then you've come to the right place" he said with a smile.

Alexander stretched and nodded briefly at her question, of course he knew his way round a blade.

Alexander threw the stave with perfect acuracy back to the stand it had come from, the stand woblling slightly from the conection.
"do i know my way round a blade?" he repeated her question before drawing his sword from the sheath concealed on his back, the sword reflecting no light bar the gem in the hilt.
"you tell me" he mused with a small mischievious smile on his face.

he then whispered to the sword and smiled.
"the question is do you my dear?"

Alexis rolled her shoulder, readying herself for a playful duel.

"I've sliced my way through entire towns, Alexander, I believe I do."
She gave him a soft giggle.

She missed the days where villages had swordsmen everywhere, it was always fun to duel against them, of course humans were not a challenge but revealing the fact that she was a woman before beating them was always amusing.

She leaned forward, batting his blade playfully with hers.
"And if I don't, I am sure you can tutor me."

Alexander casually readied himself into a high-side guard, the sword on his left.
"you know as well as i do my dear that humans are childs play" he said with a smirk and then took a deep breath.
this is going to be interesting he thought to himself, it had been a long time since he had fought another of his kind.

Alexander did a simple feint test to see her reaction,like a small shift towards her to see if she was startled.

"after you my dear"

"They are childs play, but amusing the cut done nonetheless."
She replied with a chuckle.

Alexis did not falter as he moved, she was not an easy person to unnerve and could tell by how his muscles jolted that he had no intended to strike.

She slid into a Jigen-ryu stance with her katana held vertically above her right shoulder.

Alexis was smaller and older than Alexsander, she was lean and fast and her eyes stayed fixed on him.

Her forward foot was constantly pointing in his direction, tracking his movements so he would no be caught in her blind spot.

She took a steady breath, upon the exhale she sprung forward, striking in a diagonal motion from his neck and down his torso.

as soon as he saw here ready herself me muttered "first strike" and knew exactly what was about to happen.
he smiled at the attack realisin that she was no novice and he was a little slow to counter it. he inverted his blade just intime to parry the strike but was too slow to to counter as he stepped back to regain perfect balance.

"very nice, but i wouldnt always rely on such an easily recognised technique. although i must say that was almost perfect." he commented, taking a mental note not to hold back as much.

"my turn" was all he said taking in a deep breath.
he copied her stance and came in with a simple diangnal slash with one difference, his body and footing were different on the slash, slightly twisted and side on.

as he slashed the blade was slower as if a decoy. the real attack was a side thrust kick into the exposed gut.

"Only strike."
She corrected, the Jigen-ryu technique did not stand for multiple strikes, you were to kill your opponent with one hit, and one hit only.

The form was graceful, and deathly accurate but left you exposed if you could not defend against a counter attack, there was never meant to be counter attack.

It was a heavily flawed technique, hence why she would only open with it, as a test to see the skill and ferocity of her opponent, she was not naive enough to think she would defeat a fellow vampire in one swing.

Alexis noted how slow his slash was, no supernatural swordsman would be that slow.
His foot made contact with her stomach and she let out a surprised grunt, she had expected him to attempt to disarm her, not knock her back.

Her blade swept around his and forced it downwards, exposing his torso long enough for her to front snap kick him in the chest with her heeled boot.

as expected his foot conected pefectly, as he saw the blade sweep he tried to recover his footing but was caught by her incrediblely speedy snap kick and recoiled slightly with a big grin on his face.

"my apologises, my translation was first strike due to the teaching, first and only strike."
he had trained with many masters over then yearss and only a few had surprised him with radical new techniques.

as he recoiled he doubled stepped back and regained his footing before coming to a mid level guard, his blade slightly to the right.

"you have some skill, continue so i may evaluate you some more."

he readied himself, studing her every move.

"A katana isn't even my favored weapon."
She confessed, holding the blade at her center of mass.

"My usual style is that used when wielding a nagamaki, though with a my personal twist.
My primary weapon is not exactly a traditional sword."

She chuckled softly, her fighting style did not falling into any particular traditional technique, it was something she had been developing for the better part of eight hundred years, something suited perfectly to her.

Her stance lowered, she was already much shorter than him so she had the advantage of being more difficult to hit.

Alexis darted forward, getting in close to him. Simultaneously her tried to take his legs out from under him with a sweeping hook kick, whilst striking at his blade with an upper slash.

He'd either lose his blade or his footing, she doubted that he would be able to counter in a way that would allow him to keep both.

Alexander merely nodded, knowing about her prefered weapon but thankful that he did not have to face it today.

seeing her lower herself he theroised that iw as a simple sweep that he could avoid.
but when she came in he flipped as usual his blade defending his head, unfortunatly the blade still conected to his back grazing him slightly mid air and as he spun backwards he laughed before landing.

"hmmm first blood, not back" he commented.

He checked his long coat and sighed "more repairs"
he then turned his focus back to her and grinned.

with a flick of his wrist his grip was now reversed and with a burst of speed he surged low towards her, the sword aimed at her own.
the attack was a simultanious uppercut to the solar plexus, driving in and up to stagger or throw them off their feet while the sword would either be disarmed or rendered unusable for the defence as being blocked by the others weapon.

She chuckled softly as he inspected his jacket,
"Shouldn't wear nice clothes whilst training."

Alexis tutted softly and shook her head, feeling slightly guilty for wounding the man.

She coughed softly as he stuck her in the solar plexus, and hissed in the effort used the block his second attack, there swords were locked together and she found herself unable to move without giving him the upper hand.

Alexander laughed at her comment "funny girl"

he had her right were he wanted her, blades bound and her slightly off balance.

So Alexander held the binding, his feet shifting slightly before forcing the blades back and up.
if he was successful he would have enough momentum to do the following:

He lifts the swords high and breaks the binding before slashing low into her abdomen and across. the using her body as a focus roll around and commit to a vertical strike down onto the spine.
all with lightning fast speed and precission.

although the sword had connected proparly there was no blood or cuts, instead a blugeoning feeling on each hit.

Alexis chuckled and nodded,
"Yes, I like to think so."

The female vampire winced as his sword made contact with her body, cursing softly.

She looked up at him in confusion as she inspected herself, she wasn't bleeding?

"What the hell...."

Alexander stroked his sword and smiled "good girl konari" was all he said to it before registering the confusion and smiling.

he held out his sword and smiled. "i told her to be nice"
he walked up to Alexis so he was right infront of her and held out the blade to her.

"it looks sharpe and strong, but it has a will of its own" he explained.
"this sword is special, its bonded" a rare thing but an interesting experience none the less.

"if i hadnt told her to be nice well.... there would be a large chunck of you and your sword missing by now" he explained before removing his coat to reveal his well toned body pressed against a tight red tank top and a marking on his left arm.

"I suppose I should thank you for now wounding me then."
She replied with a soft smile.

"And sorry about your jacket."
She added, gazing over at the torn up coat.

"It's a very interesting sword, one that can wound on command..."
She mused softly.

Alexander smiled "you have given no reason for me to wound you my dear"he looked at the moderate tare in the back of it and sighed. "its fine, i will patch it up later, dont wory bout it, honestly".

Alexander held the sword out to her so she could see and touch it.
"yes a very interesting sword...but also a bit of a pain at times" he chuckled.

Stroking the blade he looked at her.
"this sword was a gift..of sorts. and its been with me for a very very long time."

"There are very few people in this world that have given me a reason to wound them, though that has never stopped me."

She explained, killing for the sake of killing had long been a hobby of hers, though one that she was now trying to abandon.

She ran her hand over the blade, inspecting it with eager eyes.
"A bit of a pain? How so?"
She asked, looking up at him with bright golden eyes.

"indeed" he said with a small smile. "but i believe you have one advantage over me".

he held the blade steady as she touched it, the gem glowing slightly at her touch.
"its a pain because..." he took a deep breath, the information he was about to tell her would sound crazy.
"its sentient, the sword is for a lack of a better word...alive."

"What advantage?"
She asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"You're sword is alive? How interesting."
She had lived long enough that things like this did not spark disbelief, she had delved into magic and knew of the extend that enchantments and curses could go.

There were things in this world that many would struggle to understand but she knew he was not crazy. Objects like this sword were not common but neither were they unheard of.

"that i could never hurt someone who is beautiful inside and out...it was my downfall as a hunter.." he confessed.
when he was a bounty hunter he was very picky about who and what jobs he took on. his heart was too good to kill one who in his eyes had done no real wrong.

"maybe alive is not the best word but its close enough." he stood the blade on its tip and ran his hand down the gem on the hilt.
"its alive in the sense that it can understand me and that it can think for itself, if that makes any sense?". Alex was with this sword from the begining and for the first 50 years it hardly responded, almost shy like a child.

"but! it is really useful, if i had to fight for my life then this sword is beter than 100 men".

"I see, that would be a major downfall for a hunter."
She replied looking up at him with bright golden eyes.

"Though you must remember, Alex, that the most dangerous demons disguise themselves as angels."

Looks were often deceiving, Alexis herself may have a rather appealing exterior, but true horrors lay beneath that pretty face.

"A weapon that could think for itself could be quite dangerous, not only to your enemies but to yourself."
She could not help but wonder what would happen if his blade chose to defy him.

"yes it can be but it also keeps me sain, it means i dont lose control..."he looked into her golden eyes and sighed.

Alexander laughed aloud "and the more dangerous demons are the ones that are your friends." he knew demons well..too well.
"but in the end there is always redemption. believe it or not."

"yes indeed it can be, there has been a few times where it has had some unfortunate consequences... bound we are by might and will. and sometimes it wins...."
he sat down and laid the sword out in front of him. "there was an incident where it made me slaughter innocent people...because of its ego..."