Training and sword play (CLOSED)

[BeGoneThots]

Stormstride looked at the paper in her hooves. She was reading over a notice posted in the paper about someone seeking magic training for combat purposes. She looked at the listing a bit longer before picking up her armor and strapping it on. As she set her sword on her back in the latch, she checked her helmet. Hooking it to her armor, she started out the tent. As she passed her brother, she told him she was going to look into a job listing and check on the pay. 

 

Looking at the paper one last time, she noted the address and closed her eyes. She couldn't land exactly at it, but she could get close. At least on the same street. As she let her magic take hold, she felt the world around her ripple. Teleportation was different for every unicorn. Some felt strange, others felt nothing at all. Some if felt like ages, while others said it was instantaneous. Stormstride had always felt like the world around her became muddy water, and cleared up slowly. As she reappeared roughly two block away from the address listed, she took a breath and looked around. Canterlot, one of her least favorite places. Mostly because it was the seat of power for Equestria. 

 

As she moved toward the address, she noticed many ponies and a few guards looking at her like she was some kind of monster. Many moved in a hurry to get out of her way, while others just stared, dumbstruck by the sight of such a heavily muscled and armored mare. Her armor looked evil, and the katana on her back looked....monstrous. It looked like a blade designed to cleave a pony in half. None could guess how she would wield such a blade. As she approached the door, she straightened up and tried to push her long mane back into a pony tail with magic. once she was satisfied that it was tied back properly, she took a breath. Reaching a metal clad hoof up, she knocked. The knock was firm, like someone punched the door with some force. Waiting a moment, she took a moment to collect her thoughts. 

[Alivda]

Raven was down in her training hall, her armor clanking as she moved through the motions of her style. As she went to execute a jump kick, a magically enhanced knock echoed through the house, knocking her off balance. After picking herself up, she headed to answer the door. She carried a towel up with her, wiping what little sweet she'd worked up.

 

She opened the door, and stepped back to take in the sight of the larger mare, who seemed to fill the doorway with no effort. "Hello... I... How may I help you?" She asked, the slight shock causing her to stumble over her words. This was obviously somepony who was militant, and she had put up an ad, asking for help. There was only so much that could be learned without a master swordspony, after all. Though, it could also be that this was somepony who knew of her family, who knew that they had a long line of warriors, and needed her help. The idea made her a little excited, and a small crackle of magic escaped from her cracked horn, not moving far away from it...

[BeGoneThots]

Stormstride held up the paper with her magic. The deeper green of it seemed to swirl some as she spoke softly. "You put out a notice seeking swords and combat training? I'm here." She wasnt exactly rude, but she had very little to say. In fact it seemed Stormstride was quite overly calm about the ordeal. And yet there was a hint of a gleam in her eye. She stood there waiting patiently, understanding that her presence could intimidate many ponies. She was also well aware that this mare before her might not be comfortable with such a pony training her. Stormstride was, after all, larger, heavier, and with years of experience. 

 

The armored mare sat down, looking at Raven with a curious look after a moment. Studying her, from her size and overall shape, to the tone of her muscles and the balance of her body. Storm decided she could work with what was in front of her. But there would be a few brutal lessons to start with. testing the mare's reaction times, as well as her tolerance to getting popped with the flat side of a blade. Storm wouldn't seriously hurt her, but she believed a good slap across the cutie mark could get any pony to pay attention. 

[Alivda]

Raven nodded, a more confidant look on her face now that she knew what, or rather who she was dealing with. "Yes, I did. Come on in." She said with a smile, stepping behind the door to let the bigger mare in. "I'm Raven. I know it's unusual for most around here, not of the guard at least, to want to know this stuff, but I... Well, I was going to join the Army before this..." She pointed to her horn. She led the way down the hall, towards her family's training room. "I was actually just doing some simple exercises, trying to remember the forms... It's been so long..."

 

As she led the way down into a hall cut from the very rock Canterlot rested on, they passed several paintings of ponies, all wearing the exact armor Raven wore, except there were seals and awards on the armor in the paintings. Raven kept her gaze forward, the weight of her ancestors' gaze making her steps feel heavy. She knew she wasn't exactly what they would have wanted, but was doing her best to fix that... After all, she'd cleaned the training hall, and had resumed learning her family's fighting styles. Joining her mare-friend's organization helped with that as well, not to mention the support she'd gotten from King Sombra, of all ponies. Finally, they crossed into the training room, a big circle with an armor stand off to one side, mats in the center, and a few dummies of various types on the opposite side from the stand. "So, is this place enough? My family's trained here since at least Canterlot's been here, maybe longer. I know we'll need a few pieces of equipment, and I'll need a sword... Oh! Your pay! How much would you want? And if you don't have a place nearby, I have plenty of rooms. Matter of fact, only two rooms are in use right now. Mine and a friend's..."

[BeGoneThots]

Stormstride help up a hoof to silence the mare. The walk to the training room had been uneventful. Storm had glanced at the paintings, and noted the armor. She assumed it was an heirloom, passed down the line. The cracked horn she could work with. There were ways around that. Enchantments, augments, etc; all of which could be brought to bare to assist in such things when spells were needed in a hurry. She employed a similar tactic. Looking around the room, she used her magic to unclasp the belt of her sword sheath. Levitating the sheath and blade to the side, her magic swirled tightly and powerfully. It was a strange green color. It was green and yet, not green at the same time. As well it seemed to arch energy off itself like it were alive. As she set the down gently, she took a breath and stepped into the middle of the room. "Before we discuss payment, I want to know what I am working with."

 

she shifted her stance, her hooves spreading a bit as she leaned her weight on her left side. Motioning with her right hoof, she tapped her chin. "Hit me. As hard as you can, hit me square in the chin. I want to feel it." She needed to know how much this mare could do in basic combat. If it was too little, she would have to think about training her more. But if it did some serious damage, Stormstride figured she could work with it. There was only one way the mare knew how to test that. She needed to feel it. 

 

Behind her facade was a tactical mind. She was thinking, watching the other mare and observing how she held herself. The way she walked, the way she spoke. She was running numbers in her mind, calculating possibilities for such a strike, how the blow would land and what sort of damage it would do. 

[Alivda]

Raven was surprised as the mare silenced her, and abruptly sat down. She wasn't too surprised at the request however. Nodding, she stood, her stance shifting as her muscles began to coil. Soon, she lept, and as she landed, spun on one hoof. Her back leg flashed out, a quick strike, slamming into the mares chin with as much force as she could.

 

As she finished her strike, she bowed her head, an action left ingrained in her from her parents training. She moved off to the side, her stance relaxing as she did. "Was that enough, Ma'am, or should I demonstrate my prior training again?" Her words were soft, but she couldn't keep a slight grin from crossing her face.

[BeGoneThots]

Stormstride took the blow, moving her head with it, but her body remained anchored. Turning her head back she rolled her chin a bit before her jaw popped loudly. "It was sufficient. Thank you. You aren't completely useless, which is a plus for me. And you can pack enough force to knock the average pony on their flank. That's good as well." Stormstride reached a hoof up, pushing the clasp of her armor open. As she began to slide it off, she spoke. 

 

"You have promise. Training will be 20 bits a day. I have my own place to stay, and its not far. We will start with the basics first. I want to go over a few things. Understanding your own family's style is one thing. But suppose you came across someone that used a style that was meant to counter it? What then?" Stormstride set her armor aside, levitating it to a corner in a neat stack. Taking a deep breath, she reared up on her back legs, shifting her weight and moving her fore hooves in to position. "Try to hit me again...." she said softly. 

 

The mare without her armor looked rather... unpleasant. A lifetime of mercenary work had left her with scars the length of her body, and muscle similar to a stallion that worked out regularly. She tilted her head until her neck cracked loudly, but her eyes never left the mare before her. Stormstride looked stern, serious as she motioned Raven forward with a hoof. Inviting her to attack. 

[Alivda]

Raven stood up onto her back hooves as well, the armor not hampering her movements. The mare that would be training her looked hardened, like she'd seen the parts of Equestria and the lands beyond that were not pleasant, and her stance was easily read as practiced. Raven took a deep breath, before moving forward at a pace that clearly showed she'd fought like this before. She moved with precision, her practice from when her parents training her coming back in the form of muscle memory. She stepped in close, moving her right foreleg into a uppercut, if it connected that is. She had no doubt that her trainer either intended to counter, or use her own movements to throw Raven's weight around. It was, after all, what her family had spent years developing, so the technique was familiar. While she could counter with a spell, she remembered an old lesson, to never reveal all of your secrets too early...