caughtinanetwork | .11

I believe there's something a little further out, towards the eastern side of the island.

[The question does get him curious, though.]

Do you not like being here? You have family.

Hmm? Oh no, I like being here. It's way better than the alternative, so I'm not complaining about that. I just don't like being underwater all the time. It's not natural, to live without sunlight like that.

[Whatever light does get down there is refracted by the water and looks weird.

Shiro starts heading east, looking for the open area Hubert is talking about.]

[There's a blink, followed by a short laugh as Hubert starts walking along side him.]

You think I would be more affected by it, having lived most of my life in a desert.

The desert?

[Wow, Hubert must have had to go through a much rougher adjustment period, then.]

That must've been rough.

Oh, not at all. Yu Liberte is a beautiful city. Our Valkines Cryas, Duplemar, provides the city with endless water, which makes living in the desert far more bearable.

Naturally outside the city is hot and dry, but I got used to it.

I don't think I could handle that kind of heat. I hated being sent to any desert region for that reason.

[While he does like being outside, he likes it when the temperature is moderate and there is a cool breeze.]

But I guess everyone's preferences are different.

Being raised in it will give you a better tolerance for it. Adapt or die. A dark but true fact of living in such conditions.

Frankly, though, I prefer it to Fendel. It's bitterly cold almost year round.

[Hubert points up at an area they're nearing.]

It's up there.

Yeah, don't like the cold that much either, and for the same reasons too.

[Also the cold makes his old bones ache.

Once they're in the open area, Shiro goes ahead and sets down the steel sword by an uprooted tree. He also goes ahead and takes off his cassock and priestly accessories, leaving black pants and a white button-up shirt on. If they're going to be sparring, his usual getup will just be cumbersome.]

[Hubert is used to fighting in his full uniform, so he doesn't bother taking his jacket off, but he pulls out the two short blades from under it, holding them by the handles.]

I'm still not entirely sure how we should go about this. I'm used to being able to switch styles mid-fight but I'm concerned that will wind up getting you injured.

Of course I do have healing artes...

[Once he's ready to go, he hefts the wooden sword over his shoulder and walks out into a more open area.]

Just don't try to stab me in the face, and it'll be alright.

[Anything else can be dealt with. Shiro happens to be, among other things, a doctor-class exorcist, so he can treat minor wounds. As long as it doesn't require anything more than stitches and a band-aid, he's fine.

Plus there's the fact that he trusts his fighting skills enough to at least dodge or block any really dangerous blows.]

That's not really my style.

[but he's certainly going to keep those healing artes in his proverbial back pocket, as well as a few of his gels in his actual pockets.

Luckily for Shiro, the guns that Hubert has don't actually use ammo. Worse he'll feel is a hell of a lot of knock back and some stinging. It's the blades the he needs to be careful of.]

Whenever you're ready then.

Go for it.

[Shiro will be on the defensive to start out with, mostly just blocking and dodging and making no real attacks of his own. He wants to get a feel for how skilled Hubert is first. He uses the wooden sword in a rather strange stance, though, and it doesn't quite fit the style of blade he's using.]

[Well it's not like Hubert's style is any less strange.

Seeing Shiro on the defensive, he decides to start off simply, and with a spin of both blades, he brings them together with a faint click, locking them in to a dual-bladed staff. That done, he darts forward, swinging upwards with the rather large weapon.]

[It's bigger than he imagined, but it appears to work like he had expected. Since he only has one sword, he'll have to be mindful of whatever side he doesn't block at any given time.

When Hubert swings upwards, Shiro takes a half-step back, letting the attack whoosh by right in front of him. Then he brings his sword up, ready to catch the blade on the down-swing and block it properly.]

Tiger Blade!

[It does come back down, but with it a crackle of energy following that cry. Blocking it will prevent it from hitting, but there might be a bit more strength in it than Shiro would be expecting.]

[That attack does hit stronger than Shiro had been expecting, and he has to bring up his second hand to brace the sword and keep it from pushing back and hitting him. When Hubert had mentioned artes before, Shiro hadn't expected much from them. He's pleased to see he was wrong, though.

Once the attack is stooped, Shiro will twist to the side and try to angle his sword so Hubert's slides off to the side and away from Shiro. He's thinking that making the blows glance off will probably be safer than trying to completely stop them.]

[The blade goes sliding off, and Hubert bounces backwards to regroup.]

Impressive. That's not an easy move to block.

[He'll take a moment to shake out his hands there, because he can still feel the tingling in them.]

Ah, well, I've had a lot of experience in fights.

[Usually with much bigger things, though.]

I can see why you were hesitant at first, that could really hurt someone if it hit them.

That's still a fairly light attack, all things considered... honestly I only ever go up against human opponents if it's absolutely necessary.

[Outside of training, of course, but people in his world are sort of conditioned to be able to handle what Arte users can dish out.]

I'm willing to up the level of my attacks, but only if you're sure you can take it.

[He probably could handle those attacks, he's used to fighting demons. But the question is if he really wants to deal with achy muscles later or not.]

Let's focus more on the form, rather than just hitting hard.

[He's also going to be redirecting the attacks more now, so that should help avoid hurting his arms too.]

Alright.

[That he's willing to work with. He has trained people, after all. He knows the value of form over power.

A nod, and he returns to his stance before swinging out and at a downward angle.]

[Shiro blocks again, and he finds that this attack isn't nearly as strong as that last one. Those words Hubert had said, they must have been an incantation of some sort. Blending magic with fighting, now that sounds useful.

This time Shiro adds a twist to the movement of his sword, trying to force the point of Hubert's swords off to the side and to the ground. It's mostly to see how Hubert reacts to it, since such a move with a large blade can throw someone off-balance sometimes.]

[It does throw him off balance, but he recovers very quickly, snapping the two blades apart at the staff. One still goes down to the ground, yet even as he winds up dropping to one knee the other blade goes up, getting very close to Shiro's neck.]

[Well that's an effective thing to do. Shiro ends up having to pull back from his previous maneuver to pull away from Hubert's second blade, effectively freeing both of Hubert's swords again. He's just outside of stabbing range, unless Hubert lunges or something, but the point has been made. Still, Shiro is impressed.]

Ha! Wasn't expecting that little move there.

[A noticeable smirk appears on Hubert's normally stoic features. It's not an attempted lunge or stab that comes Shiro's way next, but shots.

As soon as Hubert has straightened out, there's an audible click from the weapons, and with a flick of his wrists the two blades go back.]

Flare Shot!

[From the now transformed pistols, somewhat weak shots of fire and energy are launched at Shiro.]

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