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Fineas | The training grounds. The place was becoming really familiar for Fineas. The crowd flexing, grunting, sparing, lif- Well training, was sight that could always lift the ghost spirit. It had become a regular stop when he didn't know what to do and of course a mandatory one for his morning routine. Since he wasn't sleeping his reflexes were often smothering during his aimless strolls, so having a friendly fight in the morning was perfect.
He was becoming more skilled in spotting a suitable sparring fighter. Someone who could push him. Fire types were to train his dodge, steel his block and others were for his no guard style. And god he loved to blitz opponents, not having flesh was such an advantage when trading.
But today was an empty day. Everyone seemed to be busy doing solo training or being dishonorable with some telekinesis or other dirty tricks. Fineas refused to train with this kind of people, as it was always angering him in some way provoking some Kevork outburst sometimes. And of course, the faces he usually trained with were not here. Fineas wasn't aware if there was a kind of event going on but this was unusual.
The sword sighed. Maybe he could skip the morning warm up and go patrol earlier. Resigned the doublade turned back toward the guild to get hi- Oh? Wait a minute.
His excitation grew as he had found someone. A riolu was here and didn't seem to be occupied. Fighting types were often easy matchups and required Fineas to handicap himself to produce an honorable fight but it was better than nothing. And sometimes they were showing him some great physical move, he couldn't wait to see.
The doublade was already thinking of a handicap when he hovered closer to the small jackal, lightly tapping its shoulder to get his attention.
"Hey there fellow warrior, are you here to fight? I'm in need of an opponent."
Ciel | Ciel was lost, despite being where he wanted to be.
The training grounds seemed like a great place for a Ranger to visit in their downtime, but the Riolu certainly felt out of place at the moment. Everyone seemed to know exactly what they were doing, while Ciel had only showed up because he had heard about it. He certainly wasn't thinking of what he was going to DO once he had got there.
It was a bit naive in hindsight, but he had figured there would be some form of direction given to him once had had arrived. Instead everyone was doing their own thing, of their own volition. It was really insiring, but also really didn't help him when it came to thinking of what he should be working on? He had only just gotten his style to the point where it was viable after all, who was gonna help him pick apart it's weaknesses?
The answer to that question just so happened to scare the living daylights out of him, the tap on his shoulder sent him airborne as he let out a nervous "AIE!" He pivoted around instinctively to face the noise as he landed, finding the culprit to be a Doublade with a simple request.
"I- ah, sorry. Just you caught me at a weird moment." sputtered Ciel, getting his composure back from the mild scare. "You said something about a fight?"
Fineas | Fineas blinked a few times. What a theatrical person, jolting like this to engage a conversation. Maybe some people didn't like conventional greetings, he had to note this too. Maybe ask them later about that weird screa- Oh no.
They screamed and then tensed. He had actually done something bad to this random pokemon for their first contact. Logically this would only lead to an unsuccessful exchange, the doublade had to react immediately. Apologies and meaningless inquiry about their physical state were a good start, then he could go back to what he wanted.
The ghost started pulling his act the best he could, hovering around the jackal and making useless movements above their shoulder with his cloth hands "Oh no my bad I'm sorry! Did I somehow hurt you? I'm pretty sure there isn't something fragile in your shoulder given your anatomy, but you never know when people have injuries or illness. I've read a few things about the brittle bones disease. If you're incapacitated in a way I can't see tell me and I'll carry you to the Ward."
Yes, that will do. It seemed like the riolu wasn't hurt at all but mortals liked when others want to take care of them. Weird. Now back to the serious business, Fineas didn't want to spend hours here and thus went straight to his goal. Politely, of course, you don't want to anger mortals.
"But if you are ok, yes I did ask if you were willing to fight me" He made a large movement to show the whole training grounds to the riolu "You see I'm in need of a sparring partner and it seems like most of those people are too busy or not willing to exchange a few hit with me." His attention went back to the blue pokemon "Of course this match would be a bit to my advantage since you can't use a part of your moves on me and I'm pretty resilient to physical hits. I'll fight with restrictions, like no ghost energy or something."
He extended one of his hands "So, are you okay with this?"
Ciel | Well, at least he apologized. That and he hadn't meant to scare him so thoroughly; actually the sword seemed to think he had injured him.
"I'm good, thanks." Ciel stammered, trying to keep track of the blade as it hovered around him. Even then he assumed that there would perhaps be a medical team on standby, in case things got ugly during training.
Speaking of, the Doublade seemed to be offering a sparring match, which could be what Ciel was looking for. Although he did have a question with the specifics the blade was suggesting. "I mean, last I checked your ghost stuff wouldn't do much to me either, correct?" He questioned, recalling that specific effects from his previous reading.
"Oh! I'm Ciel, by the way! I wasn't sure what I was going to do down here before you came along, so thanks for that." He also thanked, before he could give himself the chance to forget such formalities.
Fineas | That was one step in the right direction. Of course, the riolu wasn't injured, but better safe than sorry. Now that the ice was broken without major mistakes from Fineas, he could be more familiar. This was roughly following the typical first-time encounter scheme for the moment, so the ghost wasn't worried at all.
On the other hand, Ciel had just raised a problem. Was his type unable to hit their affinity? He was pretty sure that it wasn't the case but Fineas wanted to be sure.
The doublade grabbed his sheat upside down with one hand and put the other underneath, shaking the object until a pretty worn book with a lot of markers and a pen fell from it. He had caught the habit of carrying his journal with him at all time, you never know when someone can teach you something new.
He quickly turned the pages, looking for one at the beginning. Here. "Combat 101: Types". Fineas left his finger fetching the ghost line to match it with the combat column. Nothing in the little box. He sighed of relief. Experiencing memory loss at his age could be really bad, given that he could live for a very long time.
The ghost closed the book with a loud CLAP, reporting his attention to Ciel. "Sorry I needed to check. So nope, your species is totally vulnerable to my ghost energy, and that would be an unfair advantage." He slid the book and the pen back in the scabbard, making sure they weren't going to fall easily "And since it takes away your main energy, I'm not going to use my steel affinity either. This will mostly be a physical duel, I hope you can surprise me"
The ghost moved a few feet away taking his mark. But something wasn't right, he had missed a step... Oh crap. The Sword waved "The name is Fineas by the way, I'm ready whenever you are!"
Ciel | Huh, that was the case then? He'd have to check the legitimacy of that old tome of his when he got back to Quartz Town. Leave it to a caravan to peddle him an inaccurate book.
Ciel listened as the ghost type laid out their restrictions, none of them seemed to cover what he had up his sleeve, save the fact that he did have a few surprises, if they were needed. Otherwise the blades seemed to be ready for combat.
The Riolu spent a moment stretching his arms. This would be his first sparring match with another mon in a while, and that mon in question technically counted as two, given the nature of how a Doublade operated. That would complicate things surely, but Ciel could see a few opportunities arising...
Ciel got into a more athletic stance, leaning forward as he brought his right paw forward, channeling his hidden power. An ice shard formed in the palm of his paw, in the shape of a small dagger that was currently being offhanded by the Riolu. Everything seemed to be in order on this end; he had been training for this, after all.
"You first, yeah?" Ciel called out with a nond. He was intent on seeing what the sword was bringing to the table first. Perhaps something that the RIolu could turn against the pair that floated before him.
Fineas | Fineas was expecting a full physical attacker as most lucario and riolu were known to be the type of people that liked making a fight really close and personal, so the usage of an ice manipulating move was a little bit unexpected. Still, such a small weapon was not a threat for two blades made of three feet of steel each. The worse could be the bite of the cold energy, but the doublade was confident he could take it without problem.
A quick analysis of his opponent told him that he would not be the fastest one here, it was most likely that he would need to trade blows in order to touch his opponent if this one played it defensively. Again, if Ciel had no other weird trick it would be fine.
Fineas took a deep fictional breath and charged when his opponent invited him. Being two could be an advantage only if used wisely.
The right sword started glowing, using a sacred sword to get some more range for the sweeping move incoming, while the second sword just hovered a few feet above the ground, ready to catch a jumping opponent to kick them out of the air head first. This move was more successful when used on the field because he could strike with his edges when needed, but here he had to make sure to not maim someone and strike with the flat side of his blades. Mortals could be so fragile sometimes.
A classic engagement, but The ghost was still judging if Ciel was an accomplished fighter or a brawler wannabe.
Ciel | Well the Doublade certainly wasn't giving him time to think. Not that he needed it; he mostly fought on the fly anyway.
Ciel threw the knife at the second blade, before bringing his two paws together with a resounding CLAP before a smokescreen quickly billowed forth from the point of contact, Blocking any vision into the arena. The Riolu used this moment to slip by the impending attack, the sweeping blade of energy instead making contact with a log that was about half as tall as Ciel.
The ice shard that was previously thrown was probably the wrong tool for this job at the moment. A shame to, he had worked hard on refining his hidden power techniques so he could do stuff like that.
Personal preference aside, Ciel brought his paws back together once more before concentrating, freezing his paws over until there was a sizable chunk of ice that coated his paws. He waited until the smoke cleared before leaping forward at the first blade from behind, bringing the ice chunk downwards in an attempt to land a hit on the Doublade.
Fineas | Fineas didn't flinch at the sight of little ice object flying toward him and just sliced it in half mid air not even stopping their progression. Ciel would've to do better than this if he wanted to do harm.
The 'do better' came sooner than expected as the little jackal raised a smoke of cloud before the sacred sword could hit him. However, the ghost didn't stop his movement as they could still be hiding in the no visibility field. A wise move he thought as he hits something, but doubt soon came as he felt the thing breaking in one blow. They couldn't be that fragile right?
The doublade backed away, waiting for the smoke to fade a bit, only to see a shattered log on the ground. An evasive move, not bad, but in the end, it was just draining Ciel's stamina since they didn't use the occasion to make an offen-
An alarming feeling raised in Fineas' mind. He knew exactly what it meant, something was jumping on him, and he wasn't doubting a second about the identity of the aggressor. Pulling all his will to not fuse with his shadow to dodge, he just turned back to face his opponent, taking the ice move right in the face. Physically everything seemed to be in order, the damages were mainly creating interferences between the two swords. More hits like this could result in a really bad headache. Or worse, but better not talk about worse.
But that's when the second sword, that was still hovering above came into action "Not bad! I underestimated you, but let me show why my style is called 'No-guard'!"
The second sword zoomed in with this wild fire in their eyes, a sacred sword already charged to bat the riolu away.
Ciel | A Direct hit! The ice chunk shattered into two as Ciel landed the blow, freeing up his paws again.
Alas what Ciel hadn't accounted for was the fierce hum of energy charging in from above. He just got outplayed, and he knew it. He twisted mid air to face the second blade, watching the steel sing as it came barreling toward him. He crossed his paws in front of him so the ice could take the hit, but it only served to dampen the blow as he was swatted to the ground, the impact shattering both ice chunks into tiny pieces that reflected off of the sunlight.
Ciel's vision blurred as he made hard contact with the training floor, landing squarely on his back with a solid crunch, the wind having been knocked out of him. Gasping, he rolled onto his side, getting up as the swords loomed over him, before running to give him some distance to work with. His paws froze over again, but it would take a little more time for his paws to freeze over fully.
Fineas | The riolu flying away, chunks of ice flying in the air and refracting the morning sun. Fineas took a second to admire the beautiful sight. Battling never ceased to amaze him.
But all things had an end, and Ciel hit the ground with a loud thump. He had maybe punched the other a little bit too hard given that they weren't touching the ground when he did. He had to be a bit more careful, even if it was pretty hard when the excitement produced by the conflict was taking over his rationality.
The ghost was ready, slowly closing the gap between him and the fighting type, waiting for them to get up and throw them another move or pull off a fantastic move. It kind of surprised him when instead, the riolu just ran away. What a bummer! They were once again producing a layer of ice on their paws. "If you're trying to pull off the same move, I must warn you. I won't fall for a cheesy smoke field once again."
That was just a friendly warning, but with some cold intentions. If they didn't want to fight and just use the same trick again and again, so be it. He could force them to adopt another style, he just had to catch an arm or a leg if they tried to do the jumpy move again. The junction between the shoulder and the neck would be the best case. The jackal had a pretty normal body for a bipedal, so muscles should be the same as most people.
The sword zoomed in, this time going without charging a move, just straight rushing at Ciel. Fineas made sure to switch the blade roles, as he didn't want the same one to take all the hits. "Here I come!"
Ciel | It was true, he couldn't pull the same trick twice. That last substitute had already drained him, and getting walloped afterwards only made it worse. It's not like he had a choice, this sword refused to use any of his moves, so copy cat was simply out of the question.
That only left his Hidden Power, which did have some effect on the sword, even if it was only marginal. As his paws finally froze over, Ciel was running through the handful of options he had at his disposal; Every plan ending in another hit on his end.
As the pair charged, It suddenly dawned on him. He wasn't gonna get far with evasive maneuvers against them. These two wanted a head on fight? they would get one.
Ciel held his now frozen paws up, waiting for the opportune moment. As the first sword attempted to strike, Ciel slammed his paws down on the flat sides of the blade, digging his feet into the ground as the force of the impact pushed him back a few inches. He began to focus, the ice that had built up on his paws now finding purchase on the sword, giving Ciel a bit more of a grip on his opponent.
He twisted his paws and pulled, bringing the first sword up in an attempt to block the imminent strike that the second one was no doubt bringing to bear.
Fineas | The riolu was finally pulling something else. He was adopting now adopting a battle stance, not one that allows mobility but one made to hold your ground. He wanted to take the hit, surely to pull some kind of counter move next. That was exciting.
The doublade kept rushing at Ciel, a blade targeting the chest while the other going for the legs. The plan was to break his guard with the first sword and then target the muscle knots of the riolu, preferably the one at the knee or the shoulder.
But of course, it never goes according to the plan. Fineas expected to receive more ice cubes to the face, not to be encased in ice. He couldn't stop the glacial prison but at least it wasn't doing damage, and he still had a body fr- oops.
The little brat was pushing him down, right on the way of the other blade. Too late to react, Fineas braced for the impact. That was bad, he had switched the roles earlier, and since the incoming hit was with the flat side and was going to land on the sharp side of the frozen blade, the attacker was going to take most of the damages.
The impact made a clear sound, almost melodic. But the doublade was too dazed to appreciate it. He was losing his mental grip on the free blade, he had to take his distance with it. On the bright side, his vision was clear with the one stuck with Ciel, and the cloth part of his body wasn't frozen. He didn't want to target the arm but he had to.
Fineas grabbed the riolu's elbow, pressing where the muscles were meeting and started twisting. Ciel had to break his ice grip if he wanted to free himself, and then make him lose his grip.
Ciel | Ciel watched as the second blade collided with the first, his ears folding back in mild pain as the clashing metal rang thought the arena. That... actually worked way better then what he had originally pictured.
In fact looking between the two, it seemed like the impact had rattled the attacking blade. The sword in question retreating backwards to avoid more damage that could be imminent. Good, now he just had to deal with the blade in his paws, and the cloth hand that was comi-.
Ciel nearly yelped as the phantom appendage clamped down, wincing as he was given a ghostly indian burn. He needed to drop the blade, or at least get him to let go of his arm before he pulled it off!
Thinking fast, Ciel slammed the tip of the blade down into the ground, planting it into the packed soil. the impact cracked the ice tethering the pair, and with a twist of his paw, the Riolu freed his arms from their bindings.
That only left the arm, which still clung to his arm ferociously. Ciel struggled to bring his paws together, before another puff of smoke shrouded both him and the blade. The block of wood swiftly replaced his arm in the swords grip, before Ciel sprinted out of the cloud, his paws forming another pair of ice fists to put the second sword down.
He could feel the toll that second substitute took though. Another one of those would put him out fight for sure.
Fineas | The riolu had understood quickly that it wasn't a good idea to block himself with a sword. Fineas pulled himself out of the soil easily, as he wasn't deep into the ground.
He would've frowned if he had eyebrows. Ciel had once again used his little smoke log thing to dodge out of the way. A little bit more and the ghost could have paralyzed the arm. he tightened his grip on the log. From where was he pulling those anyway?
Fineas had not the time to understand this weird magic trick, he could see Ciel already coming back for another assault through the second eye blurry vision. This was dangerous, the riolu seemed determined to give him a beating right where he shouldn't. He had to stop the jackal, for his own good.
Unfortunately, he couldn't use a trading strategy in this situation, giving him only a handful of options. He had to play it defensively on this side and get support from the other blade. The only viable one without cheating was to just hover back and shielding himself with the sheat and pull out his will.
On the other side, the sword carrying the log was too far away to assist the other directly without using Shadow Sneak, but that would be against the rules. His option here too were so restricted. Rushing in was mandatory, but maybe he could do something while zooming in...?
His gaze drifted toward the damned object he was carrying. Yes, that would do. Fineas wasn't really good at throwing things but it was worth the try.
The sword spun one time to gain momentum before yelling "Hey catch!" to Ciel while letting the log go. With some luck that would give him extra seconds, he thought while dashing in.
Ciel | He was gaining distance, and his target wasn't attempting to flee. As far as he was aware he had this in the- wait, what was that noise?
He turned just a moment to late, only catching a glimpse of the hunk of wood that was sailing end over end, which promptly collided with the side of his head with a resounding CRACK.
The impact threw Ciel off his balance, and as his vision blurred he caught a glimpse of the first sword, who no doubt was as amazed as he was at the accuracy that the log had been thrown. Of course that's all he could gather before he hit the ground, his vision going dark not long afterward.
On the bright side, he was still breathing, at least.
Fineas | Ciel was getting closer, this was scary and yet thrilling for Fineas. He knew he shouldn't think about having fun and such when battling as it lowered his odds of winning and raised the risks of injuries and such, but he couldn't help it. That was engraved in his core.
The sword braced itself, waiting for the impact. He wasn't really counting on the log to do the work, mainly to hold the riolu back for a second.
That's why the doublade got quite a surprise when he heard a loud noise just in front of him. Lowering his guard, he found Ciel on the ground, his mind now split between two reactions: 'oops' and 'nice throw'.
In the end, he had to submit to the oops. A log was a compact object, and thrown like this could do serious damage. The problem was that he wasn't a doctor, and if the riolu was broken he couldn't fix him on the spot.
Fineas hovered closer to Ciel, inspecting the jackal and giving him light taps on the cheek "Hey, are you okay?" He couldn't see a serious head trauma but he still had to be careful.
Ciel | Ciel remained out cold for a few seconds, before the tapping form the hand managed to extract a groan from the Riolu as he came to. He was forced to squint as he was blinded by the sun, before taking note of the twin swords hovering over him.
"Hah... good throw." he mumbled, before rubbing his face with his paw. "I think we can ah... call it there, yes?"
Fineas | Fineas felt relieved. If the little guy could talk he was probably going to survive this, and without any lasting handicap!
"Yes I think we can end this training here. That was a good fight Ciel, didn't expect one of your kind to be this agile, I think I'm ready for the day now."
The doublade felt a bit guilty. He shouldn't have thrown an object at a fleshy being like this, this was totally irresponsible and dangerous. The ghost sighed, once again his lust for battle took over. He had to do something about it.
"I want you to know I'm sorry, I didn't intend to touch your head. Since I'm the aggressor I need to take my responsibilities and will escort you to the closest doctor. Don't answer, keep your strength. You fought well now you need to rest."
Fineas sheated one blade so he could pick up the riolu with both hands and immediately taking off toward the Ward. Maybe he could review key moments of the fight with his opponent there?
Ciel | "It's alright, I can wal- okAY!?!" Ciel stammered as he tried to get up, before he was swiftly hoisted into the two cloth arms, which cradled him as they floated to the medical ward. His head was still ringing from the blow, but aside from the general soreness of combat, Ciel was at least good enough to walk.
Still, best not to deny such a kindness. Besides Fineas seemed to actually be worried about him, and was keenly focused on that last blow delt to him. Had he mistakenly done this to others before him?
"It's alright, Honestly anyone we'd be fighting out there would probably do the same." he admitted, looking up at the one still exposed sword. "Besides I had never thought of what happens when you give an opponent a log, so ah... the more you know, right?"
He winced as he finished his point, his head throbbing from the point where the log had made contact. Maybe he was hurt more than he had imagined?
He was becoming more skilled in spotting a suitable sparring fighter. Someone who could push him. Fire types were to train his dodge, steel his block and others were for his no guard style. And god he loved to blitz opponents, not having flesh was such an advantage when trading.
But today was an empty day. Everyone seemed to be busy doing solo training or being dishonorable with some telekinesis or other dirty tricks. Fineas refused to train with this kind of people, as it was always angering him in some way provoking some Kevork outburst sometimes. And of course, the faces he usually trained with were not here. Fineas wasn't aware if there was a kind of event going on but this was unusual.
The sword sighed. Maybe he could skip the morning warm up and go patrol earlier. Resigned the doublade turned back toward the guild to get hi- Oh? Wait a minute.
His excitation grew as he had found someone. A riolu was here and didn't seem to be occupied. Fighting types were often easy matchups and required Fineas to handicap himself to produce an honorable fight but it was better than nothing. And sometimes they were showing him some great physical move, he couldn't wait to see.
The doublade was already thinking of a handicap when he hovered closer to the small jackal, lightly tapping its shoulder to get his attention.
"Hey there fellow warrior, are you here to fight? I'm in need of an opponent."
Ciel | Ciel was lost, despite being where he wanted to be.
The training grounds seemed like a great place for a Ranger to visit in their downtime, but the Riolu certainly felt out of place at the moment. Everyone seemed to know exactly what they were doing, while Ciel had only showed up because he had heard about it. He certainly wasn't thinking of what he was going to DO once he had got there.
It was a bit naive in hindsight, but he had figured there would be some form of direction given to him once had had arrived. Instead everyone was doing their own thing, of their own volition. It was really insiring, but also really didn't help him when it came to thinking of what he should be working on? He had only just gotten his style to the point where it was viable after all, who was gonna help him pick apart it's weaknesses?
The answer to that question just so happened to scare the living daylights out of him, the tap on his shoulder sent him airborne as he let out a nervous "AIE!" He pivoted around instinctively to face the noise as he landed, finding the culprit to be a Doublade with a simple request.
"I- ah, sorry. Just you caught me at a weird moment." sputtered Ciel, getting his composure back from the mild scare. "You said something about a fight?"
Fineas | Fineas blinked a few times. What a theatrical person, jolting like this to engage a conversation. Maybe some people didn't like conventional greetings, he had to note this too. Maybe ask them later about that weird screa- Oh no.
They screamed and then tensed. He had actually done something bad to this random pokemon for their first contact. Logically this would only lead to an unsuccessful exchange, the doublade had to react immediately. Apologies and meaningless inquiry about their physical state were a good start, then he could go back to what he wanted.
The ghost started pulling his act the best he could, hovering around the jackal and making useless movements above their shoulder with his cloth hands "Oh no my bad I'm sorry! Did I somehow hurt you? I'm pretty sure there isn't something fragile in your shoulder given your anatomy, but you never know when people have injuries or illness. I've read a few things about the brittle bones disease. If you're incapacitated in a way I can't see tell me and I'll carry you to the Ward."
Yes, that will do. It seemed like the riolu wasn't hurt at all but mortals liked when others want to take care of them. Weird. Now back to the serious business, Fineas didn't want to spend hours here and thus went straight to his goal. Politely, of course, you don't want to anger mortals.
"But if you are ok, yes I did ask if you were willing to fight me" He made a large movement to show the whole training grounds to the riolu "You see I'm in need of a sparring partner and it seems like most of those people are too busy or not willing to exchange a few hit with me." His attention went back to the blue pokemon "Of course this match would be a bit to my advantage since you can't use a part of your moves on me and I'm pretty resilient to physical hits. I'll fight with restrictions, like no ghost energy or something."
He extended one of his hands "So, are you okay with this?"
Ciel | Well, at least he apologized. That and he hadn't meant to scare him so thoroughly; actually the sword seemed to think he had injured him.
"I'm good, thanks." Ciel stammered, trying to keep track of the blade as it hovered around him. Even then he assumed that there would perhaps be a medical team on standby, in case things got ugly during training.
Speaking of, the Doublade seemed to be offering a sparring match, which could be what Ciel was looking for. Although he did have a question with the specifics the blade was suggesting. "I mean, last I checked your ghost stuff wouldn't do much to me either, correct?" He questioned, recalling that specific effects from his previous reading.
"Oh! I'm Ciel, by the way! I wasn't sure what I was going to do down here before you came along, so thanks for that." He also thanked, before he could give himself the chance to forget such formalities.
Fineas | That was one step in the right direction. Of course, the riolu wasn't injured, but better safe than sorry. Now that the ice was broken without major mistakes from Fineas, he could be more familiar. This was roughly following the typical first-time encounter scheme for the moment, so the ghost wasn't worried at all.
On the other hand, Ciel had just raised a problem. Was his type unable to hit their affinity? He was pretty sure that it wasn't the case but Fineas wanted to be sure.
The doublade grabbed his sheat upside down with one hand and put the other underneath, shaking the object until a pretty worn book with a lot of markers and a pen fell from it. He had caught the habit of carrying his journal with him at all time, you never know when someone can teach you something new.
He quickly turned the pages, looking for one at the beginning. Here. "Combat 101: Types". Fineas left his finger fetching the ghost line to match it with the combat column. Nothing in the little box. He sighed of relief. Experiencing memory loss at his age could be really bad, given that he could live for a very long time.
The ghost closed the book with a loud CLAP, reporting his attention to Ciel. "Sorry I needed to check. So nope, your species is totally vulnerable to my ghost energy, and that would be an unfair advantage." He slid the book and the pen back in the scabbard, making sure they weren't going to fall easily "And since it takes away your main energy, I'm not going to use my steel affinity either. This will mostly be a physical duel, I hope you can surprise me"
The ghost moved a few feet away taking his mark. But something wasn't right, he had missed a step... Oh crap. The Sword waved "The name is Fineas by the way, I'm ready whenever you are!"
Ciel | Huh, that was the case then? He'd have to check the legitimacy of that old tome of his when he got back to Quartz Town. Leave it to a caravan to peddle him an inaccurate book.
Ciel listened as the ghost type laid out their restrictions, none of them seemed to cover what he had up his sleeve, save the fact that he did have a few surprises, if they were needed. Otherwise the blades seemed to be ready for combat.
The Riolu spent a moment stretching his arms. This would be his first sparring match with another mon in a while, and that mon in question technically counted as two, given the nature of how a Doublade operated. That would complicate things surely, but Ciel could see a few opportunities arising...
Ciel got into a more athletic stance, leaning forward as he brought his right paw forward, channeling his hidden power. An ice shard formed in the palm of his paw, in the shape of a small dagger that was currently being offhanded by the Riolu. Everything seemed to be in order on this end; he had been training for this, after all.
"You first, yeah?" Ciel called out with a nond. He was intent on seeing what the sword was bringing to the table first. Perhaps something that the RIolu could turn against the pair that floated before him.
Fineas | Fineas was expecting a full physical attacker as most lucario and riolu were known to be the type of people that liked making a fight really close and personal, so the usage of an ice manipulating move was a little bit unexpected. Still, such a small weapon was not a threat for two blades made of three feet of steel each. The worse could be the bite of the cold energy, but the doublade was confident he could take it without problem.
A quick analysis of his opponent told him that he would not be the fastest one here, it was most likely that he would need to trade blows in order to touch his opponent if this one played it defensively. Again, if Ciel had no other weird trick it would be fine.
Fineas took a deep fictional breath and charged when his opponent invited him. Being two could be an advantage only if used wisely.
The right sword started glowing, using a sacred sword to get some more range for the sweeping move incoming, while the second sword just hovered a few feet above the ground, ready to catch a jumping opponent to kick them out of the air head first. This move was more successful when used on the field because he could strike with his edges when needed, but here he had to make sure to not maim someone and strike with the flat side of his blades. Mortals could be so fragile sometimes.
A classic engagement, but The ghost was still judging if Ciel was an accomplished fighter or a brawler wannabe.
Ciel | Well the Doublade certainly wasn't giving him time to think. Not that he needed it; he mostly fought on the fly anyway.
Ciel threw the knife at the second blade, before bringing his two paws together with a resounding CLAP before a smokescreen quickly billowed forth from the point of contact, Blocking any vision into the arena. The Riolu used this moment to slip by the impending attack, the sweeping blade of energy instead making contact with a log that was about half as tall as Ciel.
The ice shard that was previously thrown was probably the wrong tool for this job at the moment. A shame to, he had worked hard on refining his hidden power techniques so he could do stuff like that.
Personal preference aside, Ciel brought his paws back together once more before concentrating, freezing his paws over until there was a sizable chunk of ice that coated his paws. He waited until the smoke cleared before leaping forward at the first blade from behind, bringing the ice chunk downwards in an attempt to land a hit on the Doublade.
Fineas | Fineas didn't flinch at the sight of little ice object flying toward him and just sliced it in half mid air not even stopping their progression. Ciel would've to do better than this if he wanted to do harm.
The 'do better' came sooner than expected as the little jackal raised a smoke of cloud before the sacred sword could hit him. However, the ghost didn't stop his movement as they could still be hiding in the no visibility field. A wise move he thought as he hits something, but doubt soon came as he felt the thing breaking in one blow. They couldn't be that fragile right?
The doublade backed away, waiting for the smoke to fade a bit, only to see a shattered log on the ground. An evasive move, not bad, but in the end, it was just draining Ciel's stamina since they didn't use the occasion to make an offen-
An alarming feeling raised in Fineas' mind. He knew exactly what it meant, something was jumping on him, and he wasn't doubting a second about the identity of the aggressor. Pulling all his will to not fuse with his shadow to dodge, he just turned back to face his opponent, taking the ice move right in the face. Physically everything seemed to be in order, the damages were mainly creating interferences between the two swords. More hits like this could result in a really bad headache. Or worse, but better not talk about worse.
But that's when the second sword, that was still hovering above came into action "Not bad! I underestimated you, but let me show why my style is called 'No-guard'!"
The second sword zoomed in with this wild fire in their eyes, a sacred sword already charged to bat the riolu away.
Ciel | A Direct hit! The ice chunk shattered into two as Ciel landed the blow, freeing up his paws again.
Alas what Ciel hadn't accounted for was the fierce hum of energy charging in from above. He just got outplayed, and he knew it. He twisted mid air to face the second blade, watching the steel sing as it came barreling toward him. He crossed his paws in front of him so the ice could take the hit, but it only served to dampen the blow as he was swatted to the ground, the impact shattering both ice chunks into tiny pieces that reflected off of the sunlight.
Ciel's vision blurred as he made hard contact with the training floor, landing squarely on his back with a solid crunch, the wind having been knocked out of him. Gasping, he rolled onto his side, getting up as the swords loomed over him, before running to give him some distance to work with. His paws froze over again, but it would take a little more time for his paws to freeze over fully.
Fineas | The riolu flying away, chunks of ice flying in the air and refracting the morning sun. Fineas took a second to admire the beautiful sight. Battling never ceased to amaze him.
But all things had an end, and Ciel hit the ground with a loud thump. He had maybe punched the other a little bit too hard given that they weren't touching the ground when he did. He had to be a bit more careful, even if it was pretty hard when the excitement produced by the conflict was taking over his rationality.
The ghost was ready, slowly closing the gap between him and the fighting type, waiting for them to get up and throw them another move or pull off a fantastic move. It kind of surprised him when instead, the riolu just ran away. What a bummer! They were once again producing a layer of ice on their paws. "If you're trying to pull off the same move, I must warn you. I won't fall for a cheesy smoke field once again."
That was just a friendly warning, but with some cold intentions. If they didn't want to fight and just use the same trick again and again, so be it. He could force them to adopt another style, he just had to catch an arm or a leg if they tried to do the jumpy move again. The junction between the shoulder and the neck would be the best case. The jackal had a pretty normal body for a bipedal, so muscles should be the same as most people.
The sword zoomed in, this time going without charging a move, just straight rushing at Ciel. Fineas made sure to switch the blade roles, as he didn't want the same one to take all the hits. "Here I come!"
Ciel | It was true, he couldn't pull the same trick twice. That last substitute had already drained him, and getting walloped afterwards only made it worse. It's not like he had a choice, this sword refused to use any of his moves, so copy cat was simply out of the question.
That only left his Hidden Power, which did have some effect on the sword, even if it was only marginal. As his paws finally froze over, Ciel was running through the handful of options he had at his disposal; Every plan ending in another hit on his end.
As the pair charged, It suddenly dawned on him. He wasn't gonna get far with evasive maneuvers against them. These two wanted a head on fight? they would get one.
Ciel held his now frozen paws up, waiting for the opportune moment. As the first sword attempted to strike, Ciel slammed his paws down on the flat sides of the blade, digging his feet into the ground as the force of the impact pushed him back a few inches. He began to focus, the ice that had built up on his paws now finding purchase on the sword, giving Ciel a bit more of a grip on his opponent.
He twisted his paws and pulled, bringing the first sword up in an attempt to block the imminent strike that the second one was no doubt bringing to bear.
Fineas | The riolu was finally pulling something else. He was adopting now adopting a battle stance, not one that allows mobility but one made to hold your ground. He wanted to take the hit, surely to pull some kind of counter move next. That was exciting.
The doublade kept rushing at Ciel, a blade targeting the chest while the other going for the legs. The plan was to break his guard with the first sword and then target the muscle knots of the riolu, preferably the one at the knee or the shoulder.
But of course, it never goes according to the plan. Fineas expected to receive more ice cubes to the face, not to be encased in ice. He couldn't stop the glacial prison but at least it wasn't doing damage, and he still had a body fr- oops.
The little brat was pushing him down, right on the way of the other blade. Too late to react, Fineas braced for the impact. That was bad, he had switched the roles earlier, and since the incoming hit was with the flat side and was going to land on the sharp side of the frozen blade, the attacker was going to take most of the damages.
The impact made a clear sound, almost melodic. But the doublade was too dazed to appreciate it. He was losing his mental grip on the free blade, he had to take his distance with it. On the bright side, his vision was clear with the one stuck with Ciel, and the cloth part of his body wasn't frozen. He didn't want to target the arm but he had to.
Fineas grabbed the riolu's elbow, pressing where the muscles were meeting and started twisting. Ciel had to break his ice grip if he wanted to free himself, and then make him lose his grip.
Ciel | Ciel watched as the second blade collided with the first, his ears folding back in mild pain as the clashing metal rang thought the arena. That... actually worked way better then what he had originally pictured.
In fact looking between the two, it seemed like the impact had rattled the attacking blade. The sword in question retreating backwards to avoid more damage that could be imminent. Good, now he just had to deal with the blade in his paws, and the cloth hand that was comi-.
Ciel nearly yelped as the phantom appendage clamped down, wincing as he was given a ghostly indian burn. He needed to drop the blade, or at least get him to let go of his arm before he pulled it off!
Thinking fast, Ciel slammed the tip of the blade down into the ground, planting it into the packed soil. the impact cracked the ice tethering the pair, and with a twist of his paw, the Riolu freed his arms from their bindings.
That only left the arm, which still clung to his arm ferociously. Ciel struggled to bring his paws together, before another puff of smoke shrouded both him and the blade. The block of wood swiftly replaced his arm in the swords grip, before Ciel sprinted out of the cloud, his paws forming another pair of ice fists to put the second sword down.
He could feel the toll that second substitute took though. Another one of those would put him out fight for sure.
Fineas | The riolu had understood quickly that it wasn't a good idea to block himself with a sword. Fineas pulled himself out of the soil easily, as he wasn't deep into the ground.
He would've frowned if he had eyebrows. Ciel had once again used his little smoke log thing to dodge out of the way. A little bit more and the ghost could have paralyzed the arm. he tightened his grip on the log. From where was he pulling those anyway?
Fineas had not the time to understand this weird magic trick, he could see Ciel already coming back for another assault through the second eye blurry vision. This was dangerous, the riolu seemed determined to give him a beating right where he shouldn't. He had to stop the jackal, for his own good.
Unfortunately, he couldn't use a trading strategy in this situation, giving him only a handful of options. He had to play it defensively on this side and get support from the other blade. The only viable one without cheating was to just hover back and shielding himself with the sheat and pull out his will.
On the other side, the sword carrying the log was too far away to assist the other directly without using Shadow Sneak, but that would be against the rules. His option here too were so restricted. Rushing in was mandatory, but maybe he could do something while zooming in...?
His gaze drifted toward the damned object he was carrying. Yes, that would do. Fineas wasn't really good at throwing things but it was worth the try.
The sword spun one time to gain momentum before yelling "Hey catch!" to Ciel while letting the log go. With some luck that would give him extra seconds, he thought while dashing in.
Ciel | He was gaining distance, and his target wasn't attempting to flee. As far as he was aware he had this in the- wait, what was that noise?
He turned just a moment to late, only catching a glimpse of the hunk of wood that was sailing end over end, which promptly collided with the side of his head with a resounding CRACK.
The impact threw Ciel off his balance, and as his vision blurred he caught a glimpse of the first sword, who no doubt was as amazed as he was at the accuracy that the log had been thrown. Of course that's all he could gather before he hit the ground, his vision going dark not long afterward.
On the bright side, he was still breathing, at least.
Fineas | Ciel was getting closer, this was scary and yet thrilling for Fineas. He knew he shouldn't think about having fun and such when battling as it lowered his odds of winning and raised the risks of injuries and such, but he couldn't help it. That was engraved in his core.
The sword braced itself, waiting for the impact. He wasn't really counting on the log to do the work, mainly to hold the riolu back for a second.
That's why the doublade got quite a surprise when he heard a loud noise just in front of him. Lowering his guard, he found Ciel on the ground, his mind now split between two reactions: 'oops' and 'nice throw'.
In the end, he had to submit to the oops. A log was a compact object, and thrown like this could do serious damage. The problem was that he wasn't a doctor, and if the riolu was broken he couldn't fix him on the spot.
Fineas hovered closer to Ciel, inspecting the jackal and giving him light taps on the cheek "Hey, are you okay?" He couldn't see a serious head trauma but he still had to be careful.
Ciel | Ciel remained out cold for a few seconds, before the tapping form the hand managed to extract a groan from the Riolu as he came to. He was forced to squint as he was blinded by the sun, before taking note of the twin swords hovering over him.
"Hah... good throw." he mumbled, before rubbing his face with his paw. "I think we can ah... call it there, yes?"
Fineas | Fineas felt relieved. If the little guy could talk he was probably going to survive this, and without any lasting handicap!
"Yes I think we can end this training here. That was a good fight Ciel, didn't expect one of your kind to be this agile, I think I'm ready for the day now."
The doublade felt a bit guilty. He shouldn't have thrown an object at a fleshy being like this, this was totally irresponsible and dangerous. The ghost sighed, once again his lust for battle took over. He had to do something about it.
"I want you to know I'm sorry, I didn't intend to touch your head. Since I'm the aggressor I need to take my responsibilities and will escort you to the closest doctor. Don't answer, keep your strength. You fought well now you need to rest."
Fineas sheated one blade so he could pick up the riolu with both hands and immediately taking off toward the Ward. Maybe he could review key moments of the fight with his opponent there?
Ciel | "It's alright, I can wal- okAY!?!" Ciel stammered as he tried to get up, before he was swiftly hoisted into the two cloth arms, which cradled him as they floated to the medical ward. His head was still ringing from the blow, but aside from the general soreness of combat, Ciel was at least good enough to walk.
Still, best not to deny such a kindness. Besides Fineas seemed to actually be worried about him, and was keenly focused on that last blow delt to him. Had he mistakenly done this to others before him?
"It's alright, Honestly anyone we'd be fighting out there would probably do the same." he admitted, looking up at the one still exposed sword. "Besides I had never thought of what happens when you give an opponent a log, so ah... the more you know, right?"
He winced as he finished his point, his head throbbing from the point where the log had made contact. Maybe he was hurt more than he had imagined?
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Man that weenie got rekt