Dedication (Nina / BlueSlime)

[Guan Yu]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

"Hmm, alright." the woman replied from the ground, propping up her arms at the sides of her head before springing up with her legs, simultaneously tossing up the sheet to cover her brief handstand. As it fluttered down, Nina realized that she was now facing Horned Yura eye-to-eye. The blonde was obviously taller than her, and even the slight view around her neck and chest areas visible under the low-hanging robe revealed that she was much stronger as well. "Training someone will be a good chance of pace to this boring life up here. I wish there was something to fight at times." Yura commented on her life. "There is something I want to see, your form or stance. Get up your weapons and show me." she continued. "It'll tell me much about you. And you said you planned on being a bodyguard?"

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

Nina nodded and took out her sword and shield. "I fight to protect my lady and those I care about, or those who are in need of protection and cannot defend themselves. I don't normally go looking for fights, but if one occurs, I want to be able to protect others, like a bodyguard would."

Nina held her sword up at shoulder level and gripped it, bent her knees into an athletic stance, and put her shield up to cover a good portion of her body. "I've never had any formal instruction, I've just done what's worked for me so far. I'm willing to completely rethink my approach though - all that matters is that I can become a truly quality warrior, enough to safeguard others against threats, even if it means I have to take the brunt of the damage."

((Nina takes up the Sophia fighting stance from the Soul Caliber series))

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

The horned woman took some time gauging Nina's stance, listening to what the maid-knight had to say while she went around the girl in circles. a few hmmms coming out as she considered. "Oh does that sound idealistic... But don't take me wrong, it's a good set of mind to live by. We need more people thinking that way..." Yura replied to Nina's initial lines, further analysis following afterwards. "And that is why you were recommended to ask me for teaching. Looks good, this pose. A suitable defensive one, still maintaining an edge of attack."

A quick moment went by, then Yura stopped. "You've got the groundwork done, suitable strenght and force of will, along with the determination. But your equipment leaves something to be desired. Give me your shield. The sword is good." the weapon master instructed her. Once Nina did, she tossed it in the air, a careful eye following it as it descended. When it crossed lines with the horned woman's shoulder, she extended her fist out, striking through the wood shield to smash it into splinters. Only the metal trim was left behind, now spinning around her forearm. "This flimsy tray was not something for a defense-oriented warrior, it hardly protected your own body, not to say anything about possible charges you've been tasked to guard. You'll need a bigger, sturdier shield if you intend to be a bodyguard, all necessary durability is required. We'll find you a new shield, and I'll recommend getting some armour later as well. Every piece of protective gear you can add onto your equipment loadout will help, though you shouldn't overdo it." Yura commented, discarding the metal ring and leading Nina back to the entry hall.

Once the pair were among the huge piles of weapons again, Yura went to the wall, picking up a sizeable rectangular shield. It reminded Nina about the shields used by Roman legionares. "This is a shield your type of fighter should use." the weapon master told her, banging on the shield's metal surface. "It's got a sturdy layer of metal, backed by some of that wood. Try it out." she continued, offering the shield to her. It was an unassuming, metallic grey thing with an odd, swirly crest decorating it. It was much heavier than Nina's old piece, but when she held it up, the maid realized that it was covering her from knee to neck when she stood straight.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

Nina shouldered the new shield with some tentativeness.

"It's quite big... you're sure it won't slow me down too much?"

She tried to take a few practice steps from side to side. True, the legionnaire's shield protected her in more places, but Nina had always figured she'd eventually kit herself out with greaves, a breastplate, and possibly an armored skirt. She said as much to Yura.

"I also have a skilled Oni smith at home who has measured me for a breastplate. I trust him to make a sturdy piece of armor - and no, it was not he who constructed my old shield. That old thing I got as a handout."

Nina tried a bit more with the new shield. It wasn't as heavy as she first thought it would be, and with a bit of practice, she probably would be able to maneuver decently with it.

"I don't need to be buried in armor, there will be times when quickness will count. Such is the nature of adventuring. What do you think?"

Nina asked honestly, with no discourtesy in her voice. She had faith in what Yura was telling her, but wanted to be sure that her own vision and Yura's were on the same path.

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

The blonde scratched her head, yawning a bit as she listened to Nina explain her thoughts about the shield and the future investments into armor. Adjusting her robe as the maid finished, she still failed to make it stay up properly, her shoulders remaining exposed. "Hmmm.. I suppose there is truth in your words. Gimme that." Yura talked up once more, snatching up the heavy shield. Tossing it aside, she took up another shield and held it up for Nina. "Suppose I'm overthinking these things, and planting my random thoughts. Should likely sleep more...." the horned woman grumbled, presenting the new piece as she did. This one had a similar build as the legionare one, but was only a tad bit larger than Nina's old shield. This one had a black paint over the metal, a dulled white foxhead emblazoned into it's surface. It was a much more familiar-feeling item, and despite it's metal layer was also lighter than the maid-knight's old shield.

With Nina trying out the offered shield, Yura continued to fiddle with her clothes, eventually managing to cover up her well-formed shoulders. As she adjusted the cloth, the servant girl caught a glimpse of a broken manacle on the woman's wrist, a small lenght of chain still hanging on it. In fact, both of her wrists had them. Ankles as well. It was a curious look, to say the least. "So, how is it?" the weapon master asked, yawning again as she eyed Nina's testing.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

After a moment's distraction looking at the broken manacles, Nina set to testing her new shield, moving about raising it, taking a few practice swings.

"It feels much better, ah, sensei." Nina said the last word hesitantly, but gained more confidence when there was no adverse reaction. "Yes, it feels good. Lighter, covers more area, doesn't interfere with my movements."

Nina let her sword droop in her hand and tilted her head. "Sensei Yura, forgive me, but you are yawning. Perhaps you are tired? If you would like to continue your nap, I will wait for you. Or perhaps I can fetch you some water to make tea? Oh, I can massage you too if you'd like to relax a bit. I'm quite good at it. As eager as I am to begin, there's no way I'd want to rush you. If I'm to be your student, I should make myself useful, right?"

The maid knight smiled up at Yura.

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

"Good that it works with you. Hopefully it will serve you for a good while, even after you depart from this place." Yura said as Nina approved the shield, presenting it to her as the first real thing they did together. The horned woman gave a funny look at the use of the word Sensei, but did not seem to have anything against being called that. Maybe she was not prepared to hear it from the green-haired girl's mouth.

"Yeah. Been really lethargic the past weeks. Only been sleeping and eating, occasionally swinging something around, but mostly sleeping. One of the reasons I wanted to train with someone. Shake this damned drowziness off." Yura replied to Nina's concerns about her, notioning the girl to follow her. They started to go past all the rooms Nina had peeked into previously, going past the dining room and ending up in a small room with boarded floors. There was a hole on the boards at the center, which housed a space for a fire, used to boil anything in the overhanging pot. It was a familiar setting, the maid-knight had seen one in the kitsune village during an earlier adventure. Sitting down on the floor, the woman notioned at the sliding door on the outside wall. "There's a well right behind the door. We'll share a tea for now, maybe eat something else later. Normally I don't make students into servants, though I expect them to look after themselves, even as I'm the only other person here. But if you feel like being helpful, I certainly won't refuse any of it." the weapon master explained, letting Nina fetch the water with the pot as she worked on getting the fire going.

After winching up a bucket from the well, Nina returned to the room, finding Yura in what might count as underwear. The robe had been discarded to the side, only a roll of bandages now covering up the horned woman's strong, beautiful body. One roll had been wrapped around her chest to make a primitive form of a strapless bra, the other worked around her lower parts to form something that vaguely resembled bike shorts. She was focused on tapping her horn with a finger, but soon awakened from the random thoughts and doings, picking up a bag of leaves from the fire pit and throwing some into the slowly boiling pot. "You offered a massage earlier? If it's not a problem, I'd like one."

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

Nina giggled at the mention of Yura's rather simplistic day-to-day schedule.

"Sleeping and eating, hmm? Well, those are two very important and enjoyable things. You must be an expert at them as well, huh?" Nina smiled and walked alongside Yura as the older woman showed her around the place. As if she were familiarizing herself with another mansion, Nina allowed herself to slip into maid-mode.

"It's all right, you're not turning me into a servant -- I already am one, and happily so. I take pride in doing this sort of work. It's honest, practical, and there's a discipline to it that's comparable to swordplay. At least I think there is. Here, I'll go fetch the water for the tea."

Nina hefted the bucket from the well and brought it carefully over to the fire in order to start the boil. She observed Yura in her undergarments without a raised brow or other sign of discomfort. The horned woman's body was very nice, and Nina could find much to appreciate in it. It might be nice to have such an appealing sensei train with her, she thought.

When asked for the massage, Nina nodded.

"Of course. From the way I saw you sleeping earlier, you've probably developed some knots in your muscles. It's important to limber up. Here, lie down on your stomach, I'll do what I can."

Nina spent the next several minutes working on Yura's shoulders and lower back, down to her buttocks and then her calf muscles on the back of her leg. Nina wasn't afraid of putting on pressure and kneading areas that needed to be treated, even places like Yura's firm round butt.

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

Yura lied down as instructed, quite willing to have the asked-for massage. There was no particular odd reaction to Nina touching places, even the woman's rear, the weapon master knew what the whole deal was about as she enjoyed it. "Needed something like this surely. I've been getting stiffer during the last few weeks with nothing much to do. The few practises with weapons didn't really help with that either...." the woman semi-lamented at her boring times, not speaking up after that, instead just letting Nina go about with her massage.

When the maid-knight was done, she noticed they could now have a drink, the tea had surely had enough time to brew itself. But as she looked over to her future teacher, she noticed the horned woman had passed out, snoozing on the same position still.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

Nina took the water off the boil and prepared two cups of tea while her teacher snored softly on the ground. She doused the fire and smelled the tea before touching it to her lips. The tea had a nice taste but needed time to cool, so she set it down and looked for something to do.

She got up and looked around the immediate room. This place needed to be swept, and could do with a good dusting. Nina decided to wander about and look for a broom. She could have sworn she'd noticed one somewhere amidst the many rooms she'd been shown. After a minute of popping her head into different rooms, she found what she was looking for and returned to the room where her teacher was waiting, still sleeping.

Nina began to sweep the room, taking care to push the dust and dirt away from the center circle where the tea and Yura lay. At last after having cleared the room floor into a small easily disposable pile for later, Nina set the broom aside and returned to test her tea again. It had cooled sufficiently and so she gently touched Yura upon her shoulder and gave her a gentle shake.

"Sensei... Sensei, the tea is ready," she spoke softly so as to not startle the horned woman.

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

Nina was left to do her voluntary cleaning process in peace as Yura had passed out, another fit of sleep overtaking her. Clearly the weaponmaster had hardly been doing anything in the past few weeks if she could just fall asleep on the spot like that, though receiving the massage was a likely helper in the current situation. The room was had a severe need for clean-up, it looked like the last time had been months, if not years ago. Once she had picked up the broom, the maid-knight could brush away all the dust and small litter, leaving them in piles for future disposal.

With her cheek against the ground still, Yura was still completely dozed off when Nina prodded at her. After a few pokes at the shoulder, the horned woman stirred, quickly getting herself up into a sitting position once again. "I passed out again, didn't I... Not entirely sure if we'll be able to start properly today... Maybe I'll do some practise by myself with some random weapons after we finnish this, there's a moment still left before dinner.... Let you pick what I'll use...." she pondered things aloud, taking up the cup and sipping up a quarter in one gulp. Despite still looking quite sleepy, the weaponmaster stayed up, maintaining a quiet facade as they took in the tea at this odd side room.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

"If more sleep is what you require, then get some good rest, perhaps in a proper bed so you don't build up more knots in your back."

Nina finished her tea and set the cup down, smiling calmly.

"I think I can keep myself busy while you rest. This whole complex is in need of a cleaning, and I'm just the maid to do it!"

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

Upon hearing Nina's suggestion, Yura chugged down the rest of tea in one go, covering her mouth as a small burp escaped her. "I suppose that's for the best... if you are that eager work, I won't stop your enthusiasm..." she mumbled again, waiting for Nina to finish. Once they both had finished, the woman picked herself off the floor, guiding them to a new direction.

Now going along the northern wing in the building, Yura showed Nina the kitchen, which was actually a rather advanced facility when compared to the previous room. "That small enclosed space there in the back corner is the storage, if you want to make food. Should have the basics loaded down in there, a shipment from the castle comes here each week to deliver the supplies..." the horned woman passed the necessary info onto the future student. The kitchen was not as dusty as the rest of the areas were, Yura most likely used it enough to kee the worst dust bunnies away. Once she had shown the kitchen, the two moved onto the outer edge of the wing. The outer edge had no walls in-between, it was a single huge room, housing even more weapons. These were not lined up as thoroughly as the ones in the entrance hall, but the numbers were still overwhelming when compared to the smaler entrance area. With another storeroom shown, Yura moved onwards to the so-called "keep" building at the center.

This one was a single huge bedroom, a large bed with furs and sheets and pillows, smack-dab in the middle of the room. The walls were lined with closets, though a few of them looked like they were damaged and not in use. On the sides of the bed, there were six weapon stands, each holding rather archaic and powerful-looking pieces of kit. The first one was a sizeable warhammer with a head half the size of Nina's torso, a slight glow coming from cracks in the head's surface, reminding the girl about volcanic rock somehow. This one would surely crush everything it was swung at, with possible enchantments doing additional harm as well.

The second one sported a tri-pointed spear, with one blade sticking out straight, longer than the two shorter ones at it's base that went out in angles. It had a remarkable decoration and craftsmanship about it's silvery blade and oaken shaft, but that was all Nina could discern about the weapon.

The third rack bore not one but two blades, short but thick swords that could be attached together, forming a throwable metal disc with sharp edges. Decorative lines ran through the blades, black and white energy coursing through each weapon's "veins".

The fourth one had a pole weapon of some kind, with a reddish wood shaft carrying a long, curved blade at the top. The blade was rather unusual, a strange wave pattern covering the entirety of the greenish metal it had been forged from.

On the fifth rack, there was a paired shield and mace, each of them rather sizeable and made from a faintly gold-like metal. The mace was flanged and had a usable spike at the top, the shield a big, chunky oval with some unidentifiable symbol on it. It could be a religious or regional symbol, for what Nina could guess.

On the final one, there was a pair of gauntlets with long, claw-like blades on the backs of the palms that would jut outwards from the fists when wielded. They reminded Nina about some superhero movies she had seen earlier in her life. Nothing in these suggested that they might be magical, but such weapons were hardly ordinary.

Walking among all the impressive weapons, Yura flopped onto her bed, still dressed in nothing more than a few bandage rolls. "Do what you want in the meantime.... I'll try to get up for some time today, but tomorrow we'll definately begin...." she said to Nina from the bed, soon slipping away into dreamland once more.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

Nina bowed politely to Yura as the older woman flopped onto the bed. "Of course, sensei. Leave everything to me and rest easy. We'll begin when you are ready."

Admiring the various prized weapons in Yura's bedroom, Nina didn't dare to touch them. These all seemed like weapons one needed to earn the right to grasp, and Nina was convinced that she had done nothing deserving of that honor, yet. One day though... one day she might make something of herself.

Nina closed the doors to Yura's chamber behind her and sighed, tossing away a daydream image of herself, bedecked in sleek silvery shining armor with a pale green cloak attached to her mantle, her green hair bound loosely by a delicate circlet with a ruby jewel stud in the center; her green strands sweeping in the wind. A knightly shield was upon her left arm, and her right hand rested on the pommel of her gleaming sword, its point lodged in the earth.

One day...

Nina found the chamber that she would use as her own bedding area and deposited her things, then she opened her pack of clothes and chose a pair of plain, comfortable pants and top, and a small bandanna which she wrapped over her head. She then when to the storage closet and got another broom.

"Right Nina, time to get cleaning! By the time you're done, Yura won't recognize this place!" Nina nodded confidently to herself and then busied herself cleaning the grounds. She was easily at it for hours on just the floors alone, but she approached the task as a personal challenge - an offering in return for what she might learn from the weapon master. The sweeping would also build arm strength, and she knew she'd need that if she hoped to lug around a sword and shield while wearing armor.

She swept the individual rooms, then the hallways, then the larger dojos and open spaces. She dusted as she went so that she wouldn't have to repeat the sweeping later. Eventually she had to grab another bandanna to put over her mouth to deal with all the dust. After the dusting and sweeping, she began to organize some of the weapons, sorting them in each room by type and appearance and keeping them looking somewhat neat and tidy.

After a while though, it was too much. She'd been at it for hours, and this simply wasn't a task for just one person in one day, but she'd certainly got in a good dent of the work, and the floors were looking cleaner. She found some water and cleaned herself off, then changed clothes and began to prepare some rice in the kitchen for supper. There she also found some vegetables, potatoes, and a few spices. Deciding upon fixing herself a vegetarian curry, Nina decided to make a triple portion, and offer some of it to Yura.

Once she'd prepped, steamed, and cooked her supper, she poured a large serving for Yura into a bowl, and a smaller one for herself and put them both on a tray, along with a pitcher of water and two cups, and brought it to Yura's bedroom.

Thinking that her teacher might still be sleeping, she didn't bother knocking and simply entered the chamber, carrying her simple, but lovingly prepared dishes with her, intent upon serving her new teacher a humble meal.

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

With her teacher napping away once more, the dreamy Nina was left with free reign over the minor estate. She of course decided to clean, following her maidly instincts. Soon enough, a tornado of tidyness swooped all over the compound, bringing parts of it back to proper order and cleanliness. After a few hours spent on the whole thing, the green-haired girl realized that evening was steadily making way towards them. Thus, she began to prepare food.

With her veggie curry done, Nina prepared it for service and went back towards the teacher's bedroom. Her footsteps woke Yura up from her slumber, and the woman was nothing but eager to eat. Thanking Nina for the food, she set upon the curry, soon finishing the whole thing. Having eaten her food, the horned woman fell down to her back again, doing a similar burp as the one before. "That was good... not as heavy as my own foods either..." she commented, letting the student collect their dishes after eating. So, Nina went back to the kitchen in order to clean up and set everything back the way they were.

As the girl focused on the tasks in the kitchen, there was a knock at the sliding doors, which slided open shortly afterwards. A tall, handsome man with dark hair stepped in, clad in almost full armor and bearing a straight sword along with a shield. He politely bowed at the girl with a hand over his chest, addressing her in a courteous manner. "Greeting, Miss Maid. My name is Alrik, a knight from the town of Whitehall, one of Lord Grimhorn's bigger holds. This place is Horned Yura's estate? If that is so, I'm here to meet the Lady with a challenge." he asked, maintaining a polite and non-hostile facade despite his apparent desire to have a battle with Yura.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

Nina was happy to have her food complimented and beamed brightly at Yura's comments as she ate. Then she saw Yura yawn and let out a small belch again, and became slightly embarrassed for her teacher's extreme casualness. Still, she didn't comment on it, and instead finished her own smaller meal in a slightly longer time that it took for Yura to down everything. "Okay sensei, thank you."

She left with the trays back to the kitchen and was washing up when she was slightly startled by a knock at the door. She'd thought Yura and she were alone up here. But when she turned she was taken aback by the tall handsome and knightly figure that stood before her.

"Ah, how do you do, Sir Alrik," Nina said, after a moment of finding her voice. Hastily she curstied, not knowing why she was being so polite to someone supposedly wishing to battle with the lady who was to be her teacher. "My name is Nina, and I'm not actually a maid. Well... not here. Here I'm a student of Yura's. Though it's my first day. Um... why do you wish to challenge my sensei?"

Nina went to lean her hand on the counter, but misjudged where it was and stumbled a bit before catching herself, rosy hues rushing to her cheeks. Hastily she brushed her hair back and tried to reassert herself.

"Ah um... because, if you intend to harm my sensei, I believe I'm honorbound to stand in your way. I warn you, I'm not a pushover. I can wield a sword as well as a frying pan."

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

Seeing and hearing Nina's reaction made Alrik look at her with an expression that hinted at both surprise and a slight amusement. He raised a gauntleted hand against this fearsome kitchen warrior, shaking it in a sort of calming manner. "This is not that sort of battle, but an answer to a challenge she has issued a long time ago. I have no desire to cause harm to the Lady Yura, though we might end up wounding each other in the battle. It is always a possibility. It is up to her if she wishes to answer my reply, but it is always a great shame upon such a warrior as she to hear that a challenge was denied." the man said lowering his hand again. "You see, Lady Yura has laid out a challenge to the kingdom. Anyone battling and winning against her in a formal duel is to be her future love and partner, gender not impending. I've travelled here from Whitehall to take the challenge, for I've heard stories about her skill. Such a beautiful and strong woman is something most of my fellow knights only dare dream about. If she could be persuaded, we could likely take up the adventuring path again, even though Yura has retired earlier." he carried on with the explanation, not showing any sign of hostility still.

After letting Nina digest the words a bit, Alrik spoke up again. "If it is not too much of a problem, could you inform the Lady about my arrival, Miss Nina? This will surely make a lovely demonstration of both her and my abilities for yourself as well, since you'll be the formal witness in our duel, barring the chance there is someone else around here to do it." he requested, maintaining his polite and unhostile look still. "Oh, and possibly show me another place to wait in, the kitchen is not a proper place for me to be gawking in, especially when I'm in this armor. It just looks so out of place."

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

Nina nodded and let her shoulders relax a bit as Sir Alrik explained himself. "Oh, an official challenge.... laid down by Yura herself? I suppose if that's the case than I cannot stand in your way after all. I will rouse the lady from her sleep. But first, follow me."

Nina decided to bring Sir Alrik to the large chamber where Yura would most likely meet him in battle. She was thankful that she had taken the time to clean and tidy this room. It looked pristine yet solemn. The perfect place for a respectful and honorable duel.

"So. You wish to take the Lady Yura for your wife? Without even meeting her? How do you know you would be right for each other? Just being a good warrior, I can't imagine that's enough to support a relationship upon? Ah... forgive me, I tend to speak my mind even when I shouldn't. This is an important time for you. I will return with Yura shortly, if indeed she is ready to meet with you."

Leaving the handsome knight waiting in the large chamber, Nina hurried off to tell Yura.

"Sensei?" Nina knocked softly as she entered. "I am sorry to disturb your sleep, but a Sir Alrik of Whitehall has come seeking you. He says he is here to officially challenge you, or to accept your standing challenge it seems. I have left him in the main hall. Will you see him?"

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

With another quick, courteous bow, Alrik let Nina lead on, opening the sliding door for her. Along the way, he listened to the student's words. "Despite the somewhat questionable approach to this whole thing, I do intend to make Lady Yura into my bride. Not all marriages are made out of love, at least initially. Surely you know about such matters." the man commented as Nina took him towards the hall.

Heading back to rouse the weapon master from her rest, Nina found her to be still awake, just lying on her back in the bed and looking at the ceiling. When the knight was mentioned, she sprung up from bed faster than the green-haired girl thought possible in her current drowzy state. "REALLY?" she went on, suddenly in a far more perky mood. Sliding off from the bed, she opened up one of the closets. Taking out what seemed to be the body and shoulder portions of a red-lacquered samurai's armor, she began to set them over her underwear after donning a pair of wide pants, these being black in color. As the horned woman dressed, she asked for specifics about the opponent, which Nina no doubt provided her with. After completing her armor with a pair of light greaves and an upright forehead plate that resembled a tiara or a small crown, Yura went briefly into the room nearby, coming back with a single katana on her belt. With the preparations done, the two of them went to see the man.

Despite Nina's initial thoughts about the location, Yura had other ideas, and switched them into the courtyard after a brief greeting with the man. Soon, the two faced each other in the light of the outside lanterns and the slowly descending sun with Nina on the side to observe.

Bowing to the swordmistress, Alrik took a brief moment to announce himself. "Sir Alrik Whitehall, son of Alfred Whitehall, the keeper of the Whitehall city. My style is Zandro-style sword and shield, my former master was Zandro Half-Shield." he said, holding out his weapon for Yura to see. "This is my blade, from the long-time head smith of Whitehall. Take a look and accept it as my weapon for this duel." the man carried on, offering the blade to Nina who should take it to Yura and let her have a look. Taking a very brief look, the horned woman nodded and gave it back. "I accept." she said, giving the finely-wrought sword back so Nina could bring it over to the knight.

As Alrik took his sword back, Yura began her own introduction to the duel. "Yura, former weaponmaster of the adventuring group Blades, nowadays a bored and tired woman living in the mountains. Don't have a style, totally self-learned. This is some blade I've picked up on my travels, it's an eastern katana, no information about the maker. Accept it as the blade of the duel for me." she went through the intro in a much more casual manner, giving the blade to Nina so Alrik could look at it. As the knightly fellow inspected the average blade, the weaponmaster threw him a prodding remark. "Is your father still sore from the trashing I gave him years ago? How about Zandro?" she said, sounding more than a bit insulting about the former challengers. But the man did not take any of it, ignoring the words and handing the blade back to Nina with his acceptance.

With both of the combatants now announced and prepared, the knight looked at Nina. "You will be the formal witness. Once the bout is to begin, give a sign." he instructed the girl about the witness etiquette before turning his gaze back into Yura. Both of them assumed stances of readiness, Alrik settling into one that reminded Nina of her own, Yura taking up a completely formless, vacntl and open stance with the eastern blade held casually at her side. The horned woman herself was focusing intently, no doubt eager to get it on. Despite her enthusiasm, the green-haired girl saw a terrible, grim gaze on the teacher's features. The previous drowziness was completely gone, a cold and ruthless depth now visible in the Sensei's brown eyes as she analyzed this man. It looked like the maid was now seeing her teacher's warface, a visage hardened by no doubt hundreds of bloody conflicts on a diverse array of landscapes. It was almost scary, how emotionlessly she faced down the possibility of injury or even death in the worst case.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

While she was still walking with Alrik to the main hall, Nina responded to his statement about marriage leading to love eventually without looking back at him.

"I'm afraid I know very little about your marriage customs, and understand even less about wanting to marry someone without the foundation of love. The notion seems bizarre to me. Marriage is the conjoining of two lives, dedicated to one another. It's a gift and a promise from two individuals, giving of themselves to the other. It's an expression of love. But perhaps I'm just a romantic."

Afterward, Nina would leave to get Yura, help her prepare for battle, and then serve as witness to the two combatants once they were outside in the courtyard, surrounded by lanterns.

Nina thought that Sir Alrik was sounding awfully proper, while Yura seemed completely dismissive, even insulting to the knight. Nina reserved her judgment about their attitudes, but secretly hoped that Yura would win. Otherwise she'd be short one teacher and it would be a depressing ride back to the Lord Grimhorn's castle.

After handing back each opponent's weapon, Nina stepped aside, out of the combat area, equidistant from both fighters.

"I am Nina Vertmer, of the Einzbern Household, novice adventurer, student, maid, masseuse, and maker of curry. I'll be witness to this battle, which will continue until one person yields, or is unable to continue the fight, as determined by me. Try not to get killed, otherwise I'll have to clean up your bodies. Good luck... and begin!"

Nina raised both hands to signal the beginning of the match, then stepped even further back to make sure she gave them plenty of space, not wanting to get anywhere near the potential hurricane of blows that was sure to ensue.