Sharpen your claws... [Relv]

[Silvar]

Insects, the lot of them.

Silvar looked down upon a yard full of fresh meat, and though the lot of them had made it through the initial eliminations, they were still nothing more than footsoldiers. The majority of them were just going through the motions, just as they would until the day they would be cut down. Oh, though, how he longed for that day. It had been too long since they'd lost gone into battle, and he was restless, a fact that showed in his recent wandering to and from the Fissure. If it weren't so glorified, though, these majority of these fools wouldn't be here at all. Well... That and the pay.

They were all like weeds, but a necessary part of the army nonetheless.

The corners of his lips curled upward as one of them met his eyes and faltered mid-step. If not for the little amusing things they did he wouldn't be able to stand being here at all, though it was only proper for him to be there, if only for a short time. Sometimes, he couldn't stand the menial requirements of his position.

The majority of those times, he had his generals, though, and those generals had their subordinates, all the way to the bottom rung that he was looking at now. Not one of them would make it beyond perhaps one promotion, he would wager, judging by the lack of skill they were displaying. Their eliminations had been uninteresting, and even that was being generous.

He rested his chin in his hand and let the upward curve of his lips slide downward into something of a sneer. Pathetic. Where were the powers he could use?

[Relv Ierocis]

Another year, another lot of new soldiers. It was the same every year. So many soldiers, so clumsy, so unrefined. They knew nothing of the battlefield; they'd probably never tasted true fear. Even so, they were an important part of the army, even if only for fodder. Dispensable tools were quite useful in that regard.

Her captain didn't find them incredibly interesting though, did he? She looked away from the field for a moment to contemplate his face, and found him frowning with a dissatisfied sneer. It was obvious what he thought of the soldiers. Weaklings, all of them, and therefore not worth much more than the barest minimum of his time. She could still remember the day she'd been one of them herself. Handpicked by Silvar himself in the eliminations. It had been a wonderful day for her, and one that had not been repeated since. Perhaps someday another one would appear who would catch his interest, though she wasn't sure how she'd feel if it happened.

People could be so amusing, though...see how that one faltered, how another was smiling as he practiced, how yet another was frowning as if deep in concentration. So interesting, so useless, so amusing, so weak. She loved how different they could be. It was interesting to her, even if the Warrior found them incredibly boring.

As she stood by her superior, she wondered when the next battle would be, and how many of their recruits would die fighting it.

[Silvar]

All of them would die, of that Silvar was certain. The majority of them would probably fall in their first battle, while only a meager percentage would make it beyond that. Still, these few had made it past eliminations, so perhaps they wouldn't all go out too quickly. They had a bit of fight in them, after all. In the end, though, they were just fodder, scapegoats at this point. If they were to step into battle the very next day only the cowardly would make it through a wave of experienced Fey.

Relv, on the other hand... and he glanced over at her from where he leaned on the balcony railing, fingertips tapping lightly against his chin. Relv had not been as weak, her power an incredibly useful tool that he had to have as soon as he saw it. Even beyond that her skill in arms had been unmatched among the others in that group of recruits. It was incredibly rare, however, that anyone stood out that much.

Pushing off of the railing, the Warrior let his arm fall back to his side and straightened his uniform casually as he turned away from the training grounds. While he had her here, at least he could take care of another duty. He had to make sure his generals were still worthy of their positions, after all, and perhaps he could show these idiots what a real fight was like.

"Relv," was more than just a name, the command in that one word simple as he headed for the stairs. Follow.

[Relv Ierocis]

She saw him looking at her, fingers tapping in what could be boredom, or thought, or something else. What was it he saw, she wondered? Maybe he was comparing her to the recruits. It was a possibility. The thought made her look away again, back to the soldiers on the field. Best not to wonder this time.

Sudden movement brought her back to attention, and she turned to look at him again. Time to move now, was it? She could hear the command he placed in that one word, her name. A soldier must understand their superior's orders and obey them, whatever the situation. That was a rule she'd learned many years ago. With that rule in mind, she gave him a nod and a "Yes," following him towards the stairs.

Perhaps what they were to do would give the soldiers some incentive. Perhaps it would do the opposite, and scare them out of the army. Perhaps it would be neither. Either way, she would be far from bored whatever her leader did. It was one of the perks of her job...the thought brought a smile to her lips.

[Silvar]

As Silv descended into the staircase, the shadows shifted, the darkness a heavy atmosphere as it often was around him. He did not look back to see if the girl followed, knowing that she would (and her clipped response confirmed what he knew to be true), the sound of her footsteps steady as they should be for someone in her position.

Without loyalty came suspicion, and when it came to the Fey directly beneath him he made sure that each and every one would not so much as nip at his heels. The Dark were often flaky when it came to loyalty, however, and there were few with formidable power that he trusted not to turn and stab him in the back, and on more than one occasion he'd considered having them killed. If he could not use it, then what use was it to him? Relv had always been such a shining example of proper loyalty.

Rounding the curve that led to the grounds they had just been standing over he reached up, undoing the first few fastenings of his uniform as he stepped out onto the field. As he stretched his wings and moved toward the center of the field several of the recruits stopped what they were doing to look, one of the ones closest to him saluting as a single drop of silver slid down the back of his hand.

"Move," was a growl, accented by a narrowing of crimson eyes and the predatory curl of his lips as he turned to Relv and the shadows twitched at his feet, a few of the soldiers scattering at the command and a few of them simply standing there (in confusion or shock or just stupidity was anyone's guess). The order for her to begin was unspoken, but easily implied in the way one drop of silver became many and a familiar blade protruded from his sleeve and his stance fell to ready.

Let's make this interesting...

[Relv Ierocis]

The soldiers were falling silent around them, watching in what could be curiosity, awe or fear. A fight between their superiors was sure to be big, after all. She followed swiftly behind her captain, still watching the crowd around them, though her gaze focused mainly on the man in front of her.

As she took those first steps onto the field, Relv gave herself a moment to close her eyes and rid the smile from her face. A serious look was more likely to put the soldiers on edge as they watched, unsure as to whether the battle was a demonstration or something more serious than that. Whatever they thought, though, the fight itself would be foremost in her mind once they began, she knew.

Silence as she unsheathed her sword, falling into the proper stance and letting her wings billow out behind her. I'm ready. Silence, stillness, then...the first strike. A lightning-swift movement of her blade. This would be an interesting fight.

[Silvar]

Crimson eyes stayed focused on the girl before him, though Silv made sure to pay attention to his peripheral view of the field and the soldiers within it. Training accidents were bound to happen, but there was only so much he could get away with, and multiple deaths while interesting were not very smart.

But he meant to scare them, and as Relv drew her blade and fell into her own stance he let the shadows spread outward, took command of each one at the soldiers' feet and brought the field to life, let the weight of darkness bear down upon them. As much as he would've liked to see the lot of them bleed, fear was enough for a stable mentality, and the sharp upward curve of his lips was dangerous enough to instill that in them all on its own.

And then she struck, as quick as ever and no holds barred as he expected of her. Rather than parry the blow he avoided it (only because he was waiting for it), though her speed was something admirable and equally as deadly, and as if just noticing the movement of the shadows he heard a scream that echoed across the grounds. Those who hadn't moved yet were quick to, retreating to the edges of the space even as he set the shadows sharp upon her and moved to strike back at the same time.

"Can you fight to kill me?" he questioned in the midst of it, voice sharp.

[Relv Ierocis]

The darkness was closing in. The scream that rent the air was like music to her ears, a beautiful, terrible sound, and she twisted her body around to avoid what she could of Silv's attack.

"I can fight to annihilate you," was her reply, left eye glowing red as she gained a new footing and brought her sword up for another strike. She could feel the surprise from the spectators around them as they felt the atmosphere became strangely heavy, some of them panicking over their sudden loss of powers.

Amusing fools, all of them. Though she could not pay attention to them now.

[Silvar]

The twist of Relv's body was a twist of his in a different direction, and there was an eerie sound as Silvar's blade dragged the stone, wings shifting and it was all for the sake of balance. He readied another strike only to see the glow of her eye, and her words sunk in as the shadows fell away, melted back into nothing deadly and though they twitched still at his feet there was no more movement from them.

"Good!" he hissed out, and it was, for it meant that he would not be her weakness, and if he told her even to kill him she would follow his order. His wings cocked at an odd angle and his arm lifted, the clash of metal an echo against the stone as he knocked her blade aside before his own blade shattered into a splattering of silver.

"Fight to kill your opponent," he announced, loud enough that the mangy lot of soldiers could hear as he took advantage of the opening he'd created with a kick aimed square at Relv's chin even as his hand reached for one of the blades at his hip, "because he is fighting to kill you, make no mistake about that!"

[Relv Ierocis]

And so he was now weaponless. But only in the simplest of terms; the body was a weapon as well, strong and versatile and just as able to kill. Should she even the field? No, that was folly. Though perhaps to keep her own weapon was to even the field. She stepped back with the force that had blocked her attack, readying another strike from a different angle.

But oh, a kick! Relv quickly flipped backwards, grazing her chin, and fell into a new fighting stance. She could hear his instructions, lecturing the recruits even as they fought, and wondered how many would remember his words. All of them, hopefully. Readying her blade yet again, she aimed for her captain's side.

After all, head-on attacks were boring and easily blocked. Perhaps this way she would slice open his waist, or expose the inside of his cheek to the world.

[Silvar]

Good, she was still sharp and Silv wouldn't have it any other way, the rebound time from his kick just enough for her to come at him again. The blade at his waist slid from its sheath, parrying her blow as he drew his sword's partner.

"Never rely on one method alone!" he snapped, not at her but at the soldiers watching with rapt attention. "You never know when your weapon will be rendered useless." Weapon or power it didn't matter, because there was someone out there who could neutralize it, and that someone had every potential to be your enemy.

As if to prove his point, he launched another kick, meant to dislodge the sword from Relv's hand, though he knew perfectly well that she had plenty of other weapons stored on her person. She was always prepared, just as he was, to go into battle, after all.

[Relv Ierocis]

More talking. A distraction, though she knew such a thing could not possibly hinder Silv's fighting ability. Her sword had been successfully dislodged, though, and fell with a clatter at the feet of the recruits at the edge of their little circle. One weapon gone then...

She pulled a knife from its hidden sheath on her leg, ready to go again. Perhaps a closer range would make her less easily disarmed. After all, there was much less flat to this blade, making him more likely to cut himself instead.

Or hit her hand. But no matter. She lunged once again, hoping this time to get behind him and catch him off-guard.

[Silvar]

Silvar didn't take the time to watch the blade slide across the ground, though he listened to the panicked shuffle of feet as the soldiers standing too close had to move to avoid getting hit by it. Idiots, all of them. If he weren't so entertained by Relv, he wouldn't bother teaching them.

"If you can disarm your opponent, do so," he hissed, eyes narrowing as he shifted the blade in his right hand to his left to join the other temporarily as his subordinate made her next move, stance shifting low. "But never assume your enemy is helpless!"

He reached out, catching her by the wrist and using the momentum of her own lunge to twist her arm and throw her off balance, putting enough force behind it to throw her down. In a way, his words had been a reprimand to her as well, for he was armed with two swords and had the advantage of range once she herself was disarmed (but only after, seeing as hers was longer than his dual blades).

"Now disarm me." he snapped at her, stepping back and taking his second blade back into its proper hand.

[Relv Ierocis]

She fell somewhat painfully, taking a short moment to catch her breath before getting back up again. It felt somewhat humiliating, to get caught like that, but she knew he was right. This was a lesson for her as well as the recruits.

A slow stand, a moment's contemplation, and Relv was off again. How to disarm, when her enemy had two weapons? Aim for one and hope the other failed to hit. With that thought in mind, she made a feint as if aiming for his side again, then lashed out to hit his hand instead. Hopefully that would work.

[Silvar]

A few of the soldiers had begun to whisper amongst themselves, a distracting buzz in Silvar's ears though his focus was all upon the girl he was fighting. His movements were fluid, calculated as he circled her downed form in the few moments it took for her to get back to her feet.

"If I had wanted you dead you would be already," he commented, a hint of disdain in his voice, but she was moving again, and while he was no fool her feints were good. He detected it too late, having little time to react properly and avoid it.

The blow to his hand hurt, most definitely, because while she was a moderately thin thing she carried strength and packed a punch, and it was enough for his grip to falter on the handle of his blade. The corners of his lips quirked upward though, because she was listening, at least. There was that speed he knew she had, and he flipped his grip on his remaining sword, drawing it backwards, the end of the handle aimed for her temple.