[Kahlya approaches the forest she recently ran through. The steeple of Father Doyle's church had been visible, but is now shrouded by the foliage.] [The forest is now largely dark, with any lingering light blocked by the trees. Bird song and animal movement quiet as Kahlya reaches her destination.] [She can see Mandy wearing a simple green dress, holding the scythe parallel to the ground in her lap, and spinning it slowly but with great concentration.] [Start] * Kahlya smiles to herself and tries to get within throwing range to her side without being heard. She tosses some rocks up into the air and then throws it at Mandy. It's just a small pebble. [Kahyla approaches quietly, she has enough natural athleticism to avoid overly stirring the fallen leaves. She lets fly a well aimed pebble...] [That strikes Mandy squarely on the shoulder.] * Kahlya waits for a reaction... * Mandy "Ow!" She stops twirling the scythe and spins her head around looking for her malafactor. * Kahlya grins and tries the ventriloquist act from her hiding place. "Lesson number one. Always, always, be prepared for an unexpected attack." * Mandy stands up, her fear playing out over the connection for a moment until she recognizes the voice. She glances around, not finding Kahlya initially. However, she has an increasing buzz of concentration. "Rule number two. Always remain calm in an unnatural situation." * Kahlya throws another rock from her hiding place, as she's been moving as she's been talking a bit. * Mandy's seems to sense something as Kahlya moves and her eyes flit to a recently fallen tree and then to her tormentor. She makes a passable effort at further deflecting the passing pebble, but doesn't quite manage it. "Do you really think unnatural scares me now?" She calls back with a bit of bravado. * Kahlya answers back with equal calm. "Mmm-hmm." She flicks another pebble her way, not worrying about being heard now. * Grysar seems a bit more intent on blocking the pebble this time, now that she knows where Khalya is. She crouches down a bit and quickly reacts to bat down the pebble as it flies by her. (* Mandy) Better. Now try to hit it back at me. * Kahlya grabs her scythe and flicks another pebble towards Mandy with one hand. * Mandy reworks her hold on the scythe and takes another swing. She misses this time and frowns. "If I'm trying to hit it towards you, I can't focus on blocking it." * Kahlya steps forward, finally visible to Mandy and shakes her head. "Nonsense. I'll show you." She tosses her the remaining pebbles, but for her to catch, not to dodge or block. * Mandy holds the scythe in one hand and tries to catch the pebbles, but this unbalancer and she nearly loses her hold on the scythe as the pebbles land by her feet. Kahlya gets a definite burst of frustration on the link. * Kahlya sighs and looks at Mandy with a hint of concern. "Relax, Mandy. You wanted to learn how to defend yourself, right?" * Mandy nods and settles down. "Right." You can't let yourself get frustrated. I learned that the hard way. Otherwise, your opponent will always take the advantage. * Mandy nods and focuses. She holds the scythe with both hands for a moment and then releases it. The ebony weapon fades away as she reaches down to pick up the pebbles. Gee, I wish I knew that trick. * Mandy smiles. "If you're good, maybe I'll show you some time." Ooo. Smart. Maybe there's hope for you yet. * Grysar keeps smilling and throws her first pebble while Kahlya is talking. (*Mandy) * Kahlya grins and holds herself in a ready guard position. [Mandy's throw is dead on.] * Kahlya twirls her scythe in the path of the pebble and twists it to knock it aside. It sails through the air and embeds itself in the bark of the tree. * Mandy watches intently and tries to ape Kahlya stance before she throws the next pebble. [As Mandy reaches back for the toss the stone leaves a dark misty trail that points directly at Kahlya. When she releases her throw, her aim is a bit off but the rock shifts course flying past Kahlya's defense and smacking her hard in the chest. Mandy feels an intense but almost accidental concentration followed by immense satisfaction with the hit.] * Kahlya oofs and stumbles over exaggeratedly. She glares at Mandy for a moment, then snickers, and she can tell she's not really that mad. "Good aim." * Mandy grins, the glare didn't get any sense of remorse. Although Kahlya can hear that Mandy's breathing a bit more rapidly now. * Kahlya gets up quickly and flings herself at Mandy suddenly. "But not good enough!" She leaves enough room that she can stop short if she's actually going to slash her, but makes as good an impression of "trying to kill you" as she can manage. * Mandy gasps with surprise at the attack. However, while she takes a second to consciously comprehend it, she instinctually leaps back raising her hands as her scythe reappears to block. It's blade trails the mist from before and Mandy fast breathing continues as she stares at her mentor. [Given the surprise, I'll say Kahlya still has the initiative.] (She also has a second attack. ^_^) (Heh. That too.) * Kahlya grins as she leans in close. "Good. You're getting faster." She lets in another swing as she seperates from the block, swinging up diagonally from the other side, with the same precaution if Mandy fails to block. * Mandy has a harder time with this one. She's able to interpose the scythe but only because she's blocking and not parrying. [Mandy's hands shake a bit with the force of the Kahlya's blow, but she keeps ahold of her weapon.] * Kahlya smiles at Mandy. "Tag. You're it." She hops back and starts running back. * Mandy doesn't return the smile and runs after Kahlya swinging the her blade. Her technique is not the best, but the mist seems to draw her swing dangerously close to Kahlya. Even so, she still missed. [Kahlya can sense that Mandy seems to have zeroed in on Kahlya's life- force, such as it is. The mist is acting to guide the blade towards its focus. This seems to require a bit less magic than throwing the rocks did. (Can she determined if the zeroing in is a result of Mandy's focus on her or the fact that the blade was Death's and originally meant TO kill her?) (Mandy's focus0 * Kahlya steps back away from the blade. "Hmm. Interesting." * Mandy seems prepared to press the attack if Kahlya just does that. * Kahlya isn't attacking back. * Mandy improves her technique a mite but and swipes at Kahyla's stomach. Her thoughts broadcast an intense focus, although she's not exclusively committing herself to offense. [And that's a potential hit.] * Kahlya leaps over the scythe and, incidently, over Mandy's head, twisting in the air to bring the scythe down towards Mandy's right shoulder. * Mandy's eyes widen at the jump, but her focus on Kahlya lets her body instinctually keep pace. She lifts the blade over her head diverting downward swing. [Incidentally, while the mist stays pointed at Kahlya, it doesn't seem to be helping Mandy's blocking.] * Kahlya scrapes her scythe along Mandy's, a bit surprised at the block. "You sure you haven't done this before?" She sweeps, not pulling this shot, but at least hitting with the wood of her scythe, attempting to sweep Mandy off her feet. * Grysar tries to block but her luck has run out and her technique just isn't good enough given the flurry of attacks. She collapses but keeps control of her scythe. She tries to get back to her feet while trying to catch her breath. Her slow scramble upright costs her an attack this round. (* Mandy) * Kahlya points the scythe at her face and replies a little cooly. "Wait. Don't get up." She breaks it with a smile. "Want to take a little break?" * Mandy nods from the ground and stays down for the moment. She's still got the focus on Kahlya, but isn't concentrating nearly as hard. * Kahlya puts the scythe aside and gives her a hand up. "I brought sandwiches." * Mandy smiles. "What kind?" Uh. Ham and cheese? Sorry, I really didn't know what you wanted. And I'm not much of a sandwich eater myself. I like tuna fish. But Ham and cheese is just fine. * Kahlya nods and digs through a small pack that she brought. "So feel a little more confident in your abilities now?" * Mandy nods again. "Though it is pretty tiring." * Kahlya mmms as she hands out the sandwich. "I was wondering about that. Do you think that scythe is draining from you directly?" Or are you just unused to fighting? Both I think. Did you know it's guiding your strikes? Yeah. Once I was really thinking about you it was easier to guide it your way. I'm not sure how I didn't see you when you were hiding. You really stand out in this forest. Because you're not trained to always be alert for anything that comes your way. * Mandy nods. * Kahlya stands up slowly, holding the scythe behind your back. "Not everything will be a straight up fight. People will try to sneak around. My last fight was like that..." * Kahlya grins and looks over her shoulder. "But if you catch them when they don't think they're supposed to be caught, then you have the advantage." * Grysar nods as she eats her sandwich. "Right." Why did you want to learn how to fight anyway? (* Mandy) * Mandy pats her scythe. "If I don't know how to use it right, I could get hurt." You didn't have to take it, you know. Nope. ::she keeps eating:: * Kahlya smiles. "You know I could just try to read your mind if you're going to keep being curt and evasive." * Retrieving #sab2020 modes... * Mandy grins as she eats. "So can I. Want me to know why you fight?" * Kahlya sighs. "If you knew the real reason. I'm not even sure myself anymore." * Mandy finishes her bite. "I wanted the scythe. I don't like being chased around with nothing I can do about it. Father Doyle is nice and all, but I don't want to run to him whenever I'm in trouble." She takes another bite. Or me? I wouldn't be much of an assistent then, would I? * Kahlya smiles. "I guess not." She then frowns. "I'm living on borrowed time." () What do you mean? You won. Yes. I'm still not supposed to be around. * Mandy nods. And there are still people who didn't want me around in the first place. They'll want me around even less now. I'm good, but I'm slowly learning that I can't take them ALL on at once. So what are you going to do? Me? I have some...things that need to be accomplished. After that, I don't know... * Kahlya takes in a deep breath and leans back, looking up. "Who would have thought freedom would be so hard?" * Mandy gives Kahlya a look as she finishes off her sandwich. When she's done chewing she speaks in a dubious tone, "Things?" * Kahlya holds up her hands carefully. "Nothing underhanded. Just personal." * Mandy gets up. She's still a little sluggish but the meal seems to have taken the edge off. "So not killing someone then?" She queries calmly. * Kahlya glances at Mandy. "And why would you think I'd need to kill anyone?" * Mandy matter-of-factly points out. "You had a bullet in your head." * Kahlya sighs. "Alright. There's got to be someone I can't lie to. It may as well be you." I wasn't going to kill her. But I did have Orders. I, uh, thought I found a way to work around them. It didn't quite work out as I'd planned. * Mandy looks as if she might takes offense for a moment at 'may as well be.' But instead she lets her scythe fade away and walks over to reach up and rest a hand on Kahlya's shoulder. "I believe you." * Kahlya shakes her head. "I felt an enormous sense of release that day. It didn't last though. The monk was right after all. * Mandy nods but doesn't have anything to add. * Kahlya snickers, but it sounds incredibly dry. "It's funny you know? I have all these questions. I was so certain before, even when I did have questions. Now I don't even know what answer I want." Getting away from those that don't want you around might help. Isn't as easy as that. But thank you for trying to simplify. I figured as much. Can I help. * Kahlya looks to Mandy. "Have you heard of this tournament?" * Mandy nods. "It's been on the television a lot late. Everyone else has never heard of it or thinks its fake though. Oh, it's real enough. I'd like you on my side. * Mandy looks confused. "I thought it was one on one?" * Kahlya smiles. "That's not what I mean. You can watch." Oh, sure. And, I might have to visit someone later. I'd need you there too... But we're not going to kill him? Is it a him? (Actually, kill her) (Forgot that Kahlya had specified a that earlier. So kill her? Is it a her?) * Kahlya eyes Mandy. "Why are you so obsessed with killing?' * Mandy shrugs. "I'm just curious whats going to happen?" (.) I don't plan to have to kill her, no. * Mandy nods. "Cool." * Kahlya looks at her strangely. "Are you ready yet?" * Mandy hmms as her scyth re-appears in her hands. She takes a test swipe at a nearby tree. [The scythe blade embeds itself in the trunk and the trees remaining leaves wither and begin slowly falling to the ground. Mandy works her blade out. ::Give me a sixth sense roll Kahlya::] * Mandy's attack seems to have drained the energy out of the unresisting tree. * Kahlya watches that. "Impressive. Have you tried giving the blade to anyone else?" * Mandy shakes her head. I'm ready now. * Kahlya nods and gets in a ready position herself, grinning. "We've got a lot of work to do." [End!]